


Let The Rain Pour

by ReineDesPapillons



Category: Teen Wolf (TV), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-01 19:39:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17873567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReineDesPapillons/pseuds/ReineDesPapillons
Summary: A Teen Wolf fic, loosely based on The Umbrella Academy.





	1. Chapter 1

“I’m sorry for the interruption, Mr. Curtis.” The principal smiled warmly at the teacher’s first period students. “Everyone, there are two new students joining us today. Allison Argent and Derek Wells. I hope you’ll all make them feel welcome.” He nodded to them and left the room. 

Stiles wanted to focus on the class discussion, but he couldn’t ignore the feeling that something was wrong. He glanced at Scott and Allison. Something was going on there, but nothing that seemed malicious, so he turned his attention to the guy sitting in front of him. It took about a minute before the new guy turned toward him. 

“Problem?” Derek asked. 

“Nope.” Stiles muttered. “I hope you like Kafka, because this is the first of like, six of his stories that we’re supposed to read.” 

“It doesn’t bother me.” Derek muttered. “I mean, that’s about where I left off. At my last school.” 

“English teachers really need to study the definition of innovation.” Stiles snorted. “Where are you from?” 

“California.” Derek said evasively. “Stop talking. I’m trying to concentrate.” 

“You started talking to me first.” Stiles protested. 

“Mr. Stilinski, until you’re the one leading the class discussion, I recommend allowing me to do that, as I’m the one being paid to do so. I could just as easily get paid to do nothing while you prattle on, but then I have to deal with a lot of angry parents and I’m not interested in that.” The teacher smiled patiently when Stiles scowled at him. 

“Don’t think you’re getting out of this conversation.” Stiles murmured to Derek a few minutes later, when the teacher was done talking and had instructed them to read for the rest of the class period. He kept talking when Derek turned to face him. “I don’t appreciate you trying to avoid answering my question. You don’t know me, so trust me when I tell you that I’m not going to quit asking until you give me a better answer than ‘California.’ We’re all from this state. Except maybe Allison.” 

Allison glanced over at Stiles and smiled. “I’ve lived in almost every state. Not Hawaii or Alaska, though.” 

“Were you born here?” Stiles demanded. “I mean, in California. Not necessarily Beacon Hills.” 

Allison shook her head. “No, I was born in Colorado.” She laughed. “Why?” 

“No real reason, just exchanging information, the way that people do. Derek could use a lesson or two on this.” Stiles smirked at the guy in front of him, shrugging one shoulder when Derek rolled his eyes and turned back around. 

“You wouldn’t recognize the place if I mentioned it.” Derek remarked. “Whether or not that satisfies your curiosity, I think you should back off now. Last warning.” 

Stiles glanced over at Scott, who gave him a sympathetic smile in return and shook his head. “Fine. But my point stands. You didn’t spontaneously combust from answering my question. I think you can relax a little bit.” 

Scott leaned toward Stiles, nudging him and waving his other hand toward Derek’s back. 

“What?” Stiles blurted, forgetting to control the volume of his voice. 

Scott looked embarrassed as other students turned to look back at them. A few of them giggled, and he gave Stiles another hesitant smile. 

“Hey, Stilinski!” Jackson called out. “You and your boyfriend might want to make sure you don’t wear the same outfit again. Unless that was the look you two were going for?” 

Stiles glanced down at his flannel shirt, then looked up at Derek, realizing that they were wearing identical shirts over their t-shirts, but that was really where the similarity ended. “Coincidence!” He called out, slouching in his seat when his voice cracked. “I got this shirt last November, from a resale place.” He muttered, tugging at the fraying cuffs. “It’s not something I want to advertise, but if it gets people off our backs for the rest of the day, I’ll tell everyone.” He glanced up at Derek. “If you want me to. I mean, everyone already hates me, so I don’t think it matters too much if they keep hating me.” 

“I don’t hate you.” Scott spoke up, reaching over to pat Stiles’ shoulder. 

“I know. Thanks.” Stiles grinned. “That’s why I’m your best friend.” 

“Sit together at lunch?” Allison asked Scott, standing up when the bell rang. “I mean, unless I’m intruding?” 

“You’re not intruding.” Scott assured her. “You can definitely sit with us.” He stared after her when she left the room. 

“You’re a little bit ridiculous.” Stiles teased, nudging Scott toward the hallway. “But she likes you, so it’s working in your favor.” 

“What about you and Derek?” Scott stopped at his locker and put the combination in, then opened the door. 

“Me and Derek?” Stiles repeated. “Um, what?” 

“Well, come on.” Scott glanced over at Stiles. “You don’t really think that Lydia is ever going to notice you, right? And I know you like guys. I looked up some stuff and I guess I’m not supposed to say it, like, you’re supposed to tell me first? But whatever, it doesn’t bother me or anything. If you like him, you should at least maybe try being nicer to him? I don’t think this whole thing where you badger people to get them to like you is going to work.” 

“It worked with you.” Stiles frowned. 

“Yeah, but we were in preschool and it’s not like there were a lot of options.” Scott grinned. 

“Take that back. I’m the bestest best friend you’ve ever had and you would be a hopeless mess without me.” Stiles glanced at Scott’s abdomen, where a bandage had been taped in place just two hours earlier. “I’m not the nice one. That’s your job. My job is to make sure people don’t take advantage of you.” 

“I appreciate that. Sometimes.” Scott’s tone was gentle. “But I think I’m old enough to take care of myself. You don’t have to always try to protect me.” 

“Yeah, I failed at that yesterday.” Stiles grimaced. 

“I’m healed. I’m fine.” Scott hugged Stiles. “It would have been worse if my mom found out I was in the woods, so you did me a favor. I just want you to find someone who makes you happy, instead of miserable. Lydia makes you miserable. I wish you’d see that.” He closed his locker door. “I know that you can’t just date someone who might not even like guys, but you should at least be considerate and try to find out.” He took a few steps back. “I have to go. Be nice!” 

“Bite me!” Stiles called out, shaking his head in fond exasperation. He turned to go toward his own classroom, recoiling when he realized that Derek was right behind him. “What the fu- you can’t just sneak up on people!” 

“I do it a lot.” Derek didn’t look the least bit apologetic. “I need to talk to you. Privately.” He grabbed Stiles’ arm and pulled him into an empty classroom. 

Stiles looked terrified as Derek locked the door, wondering if he was about to get punched in the face. “If this is about what Scott said, you should know that I’m not really sure I’m actually bisexual. I’ve had some, you know, curiosities. But I don’t think someone can necessarily say that they’re bisexual if there’s no ‘sexual’ involved, and I’m about as virgin as a virgin can be, except I kissed someone once, on a dare, and it was-” 

“Stiles, shut up.” Derek interrupted. “I need your help because your dad is the Sheriff and right about now, he’s probably investigating a lie I told him. I know it’s a lot to ask, but do you think you can help me out and delete his files about me?” 

Stiles blinked. “I think I’d actually rather have you punch me in the face. Why should I help you? What do I get out of it?” 

Derek sighed. “My name is Derek Hale. Not Wells. I only said that because I knew that if your dad looked for Derek Hale-” 

“He’d find someone who looked just like you, about six years ago.” Stiles muttered. “Wait, why should I even be listening to this? You do look just like him, but that doesn’t make any fucking sense. Derek Hale disappeared six years ago, when he was sixteen and his family’s house burned down. They thought he died in the fire, but there was never any evidence that he had been there. He’s been listed as a missing person this whole time. My dad’s been going out of his mind, trying to figure out what happened to you. Assuming you’re actually Derek. That Derek. Whatever.” 

“If I just wanted your attention, I’d find another way to get it.” Derek sat on the teacher’s desk, stretching his legs out in front of him and smirking at Stiles. “You like me, right? I didn’t misunderstand that part of the conversation between you and Scott?” 

Stiles licked his lips nervously. “I don’t appreciate you trying to manipulate me.” He said quietly. “If you’re interested in me, that’s one thing, but odds of that are really fucking slim and it seems like you’re just trying to make fun of me to score points with people like Lydia and Jackson.” 

“That’s the point I’m trying to make.” Derek waved off Stiles’ concern. “I really do need your help. I could have probably just invited myself over and had sex with you, then used the opportunity to steal your dad’s files. But I know what being used feels like, and it kind of makes me want to throw up. I’d rather just be honest. I’m Derek Hale.” 

Stiles sat down in one of the desks in the front row, holding a hand up. “I’m trying to process this. I need a few seconds.” He counted his fingers and breathed in and out slowly. “What the fuck?” 

“I was told not to mess with time travel, and I tried to leave it alone, but then someone set my house on fire and I thought the rules didn’t matter anymore.” Derek murmured. “I’ve been stuck here for a couple of weeks now and your dad caught me and was talking about busting me for truancy. I left, and I figured if I wanted him to leave me alone, I had to at least pretend I give a shit about school. But then I heard your last name and made the connection. I need to find my way back to my own time, but that’s going to be pretty hard if I’m just running from the police constantly.” 

“Why should I believe you?” Stiles stared at Derek. “I mean, if you were from the future, you could tell me something and I could wait and see if it was true, and _then_ I’d help you. But you’re from the past. I guess that means for you, I’m the one from the future. Is that weird? Should I be asking you stuff from the past six years and see how much you get wrong? I don’t think that’s a very accurate way to prove anything. Never mind.” 

Derek frowned. “If I was anyone else but Derek Hale, would I know that you were at the police station, the night of the fire? You offered me the choice between Twizzlers and Reese’s, and I got into an argument with you about Red Vines. You might not remember this because you were only ten. For me, that was just two weeks ago.” 

“Twizzlers _are_ better than Red Vines.” Stiles muttered. 

“And I called you a philistine, not a Flintstone.” Derek continued, smiling faintly when recognition dawned in Stiles’ eyes. 

“Holy shit. This has got to be the weirdest day of my life, and nothing is even actually happening to me. Just to everyone else I know. What do you need me to do?” 

“First of all, keep Scott away from Allison Argent.” Derek folded his arms across his chest.

“Why? Do you want to date her?” Stiles frowned. 

Derek cringed. “Not a chance. I hate that entire family. They’re the ones who set my house on fire. I can’t prove it, and even if I could, what would I say? That I time-traveled and I was there when it happened?” 

“It was considered a wiring problem.” Stiles murmured. “This should be a lot weirder than it is, probably. If I wake up and none of this was even real, I’m going to be really pissed off at my subconscious. So you think Allison is evil?” 

“Not evil.” Derek snorted. “But not kind. If you want to keep your friend safe, you need to keep him away from the Argents. You should probably stay away from them, too.” 

“I don’t think I can do that.” Stiles frowned. “I can try, but I didn’t get any bad vibes from Allison. I think she’s okay. I can usually tell if someone’s even a little bit terrible. Now, one more thing? Why would you end up here?” 

“I don’t know. I just wanted to find help.” Derek shrugged. “I leaped through time and saw the remains of my house in the woods. It was still intact enough for me to sleep there, and I didn’t know where else to go until I decided to forge enrollment for myself here at the school.” He looked at Stiles’ flannel shirt, tugging on his own. “Mom always bought us duplicates of clothes because we had a habit of ruining them.” 

“How would you-” Stiles began, but he was on his feet and moving backward at the sight of claws and fangs.

“That shirt you’re wearing is my old one.” Derek spoke around his pointed teeth. “If you look at the tag, it has ‘DH’ written on the back of it. Laura had a bad habit of stealing my clothes and insisting that they were hers. Putting my initials on everything stopped her from doing that.” 

Stiles reluctantly took off the flannel shirt, looking at the underside of the tag. Like Derek had said, ‘DH’ was there in faded blue ink. “Do you want this back, then?” 

Derek shook his head. “Keep it. Just try to make sure we don’t wear the same things on the same day. You probably ought to check the rest of your shirts for my initials, too.” 

“Why? Did you time-warp a suitcase? Because if you didn’t, then it doesn’t matter.” Stiles scoffed. “I’ll help you, but I still think I should at least be getting something out of this.” 

“Think of something and get back to me.” Derek stood up, shouldering his backpack. “As long as it’s not some way to take advantage of me, I think I can handle it.” 

“Are you sitting with us at lunch?” Stiles asked, faltering at Derek’s withering look. “Oh, right. Allison. This is going to suck.”


	2. Chapter 2

After lacrosse tryouts, Stiles changed lanes and went to the store, instead of going home. He wasn’t even sure what he was looking for, specifically. It wasn’t the first time that he had wandered into a store and came out with a cart full of bags, but he doubted that he could explain new clothes, a sleeping bag, a portable dvd player, movies, a flashlight, electronic candles, and a camping stove to his father. With a little bit of luck, he wouldn’t have to. Once more, he didn’t drive himself home. He struggled a little with the weight of the bags, but got them to the remains of the Hale house and started unloading them on the living room floor. 

“You don’t knock?” Derek called out from the second floor. 

Stiles sat back on his heels and glanced up, embarrassed. “I just figured that there was a lot of stuff you needed, and it would be easier for me to cart it here in my Jeep than to find you, convince you to come with me, and let me buy you things that you don’t exactly have the cash to buy yourself. If I was on my own...” He cleared his throat, feeling a little too distraught to finish his sentence out loud. He had considered that possibility more than once over the years, and he shrugged instead of saying anything else. He knew, without a doubt, that if he was in Derek’s position, he wouldn’t have wanted help from anyone, either. 

“Relax, it was a joke.” Derek climbed over the railing and dropped to the first floor below, crouching to study the stockpile that Stiles had for him. He snorted, glancing up from the movies to look at the other teen. “You brought me clothes and movies, but no food?” 

“What am I, a miracle worker?” Stiles shook his head. “You’re lucky you’re getting this much. My dad’s going to have a lot of questions if he sees how much I just spent. I know you don’t really want help with this.” He waved a hand to indicate the room they were in. “But you’re stuck with me now, like it or not. My mom died before your house caught on fire, and the idea of being an orphan still keeps me awake at night.” He pressed on, knowing he would get too emotional if he didn’t get the words out fast enough. “I wouldn’t want anyone helping me, either. But I know I’d still need the help, anyway. So. Stuff. And the movies are all ones you’ve missed out on, jumping through time. Assuming that’s a legitimate thing and that you’re not fucking with me. But I believe you. It’s just that it defies logic. I don’t know how my head hasn’t exploded.” 

“I think your tongue would go numb before your head exploded.” Derek muttered. 

Stiles stared at him. “What? Why?” 

“Because you talk so much.” Derek smiled. “You’re the first person who had ever made me wonder if tongue sprain is a possible medical condition.” 

“And on that note, I’m leaving.” Stiles stood up and took a couple of steps back from Derek, but the idea of going didn’t feel right. “You should probably go in chronological order. For the movies.” 

“Or you could stay and watch something with me.” Derek avoided Stiles’ gaze as he spoke, spreading the sleeping bag out on the floor. After a deep breath, he glanced up again. “It’s been a rough couple of weeks. I was seeing someone I shouldn’t have been, for a lot of reasons. I thought my life was getting back to normal, and then the fire happened and Laura wanted to leave, and I haven’t had anyone I can talk to for a long time. That conversation with you, about candy? That was the first time I felt like anything was even close to how it used to be. She said ‘we’re going to New York,’ and I panicked and ran, and I guess I sort of ran _through_ time, and ended up here. I don’t even talk this much, it just seems like I can talk to you?” 

“You can.” Stiles nodded. “I’ll stay.” He paused, then shook his head. “Actually, I won’t. You should come to my house. You can talk to me about whatever you want. I don’t really bother stopping to think about what would be considered appropriate conversation. Just leave your stuff here, in case something goes wrong and you still need to crash somewhere. Uh, but bring a change of clothes?” 

“Right.” Derek put some clothes into one of the shopping bags, giving Stiles an expectant look as he stood up. 

“Can we talk about this whole werewolf thing?” Stiles asked warily, as he started walking back toward his Jeep. “Because someone bit Scott last night and he kind of needs a werewolf Yoda, and I’m not really equipped for that. In the literal sense. But you are, so, uh, you didn’t bite him, right?” 

“I’m not an alpha.” Derek opened the passenger side door of the Jeep and got in. 

“I’m not even going to pretend that I know what that means.” Stiles started the Jeep. “Explain yourself?” 

“There are three kinds of werewolves. Alphas, betas and omegas. The alphas can offer the bite to someone. Betas are their pack members, but they’re not the pack leader. And omegas don’t have a pack. It’s dangerous to not have a pack.” Derek muttered. 

“Okay, so, does that mean that you’re in trouble? Is Scott in trouble? Oh my god, is Scott going to die?” Stiles blurted, slamming on the brakes. 

“Scott has an alpha.” Derek said patiently. “The werewolf who bit him. It wasn’t me.” 

“How do I figure that out?” Stiles frowned. “Do I even need to figure that out? Do you know who Scott’s alpha is?” 

Derek shook his head. “I don’t. I’m a little more focused on figuring out my own problems right now.” 

“Fair.” Stiles started driving again, grateful that he knew the route by muscle memory and didn’t have to worry about missing a turn as his mind wandered. “I have to tell you, I don’t really like any of this. I feel bad about what you’re going through, but I’d like to go back to yesterday if I can figure out how to do some time-traveling of my own, and then I’d go stay with my grandparents in Minnesota and never have to deal with any of this. I don’t like change. Obvious changes are okay, like having to go back to school or the weather being different from the day before. I don’t get panic attacks about that. But my mom dying or my best friend becoming a werewolf, or finding out that time travel is possible? That’s life-altering.” 

“Life-altering.” Derek scoffed. “A year ago, at least for me? I was on the basketball team.” He watched Stiles as he spoke. “I was dating someone I really liked, and she died. It was my fault. It took me awhile to even want to date anyone else, and then my house burned down and I lost most of my family. I’m not even sure what happened to Laura, and I don’t think I want to know.” 

“I can find out.” Stiles glanced at Derek. “It’s going to take some time to get through all of this, but you wished for help and ended up here, and I’m helping. I mean, with finding your sister and how to get you back to your time. If you want my help with algebra, you’re screwed.”

* * *

Derek felt awkward as he stood in the kitchen, a little while later. Some song was playing on the radio, and he fought back a laugh after the third time that Stiles had started singing along with it and immediately stopped, like he was committing a horrible crime. Despite everything, Derek hadn’t forgotten how to enjoy himself, but he felt guilty about it. 

_”I know what you did to that girl.” Kate had smirked at Derek, gripping his shirt suddenly and yanking him toward her. She lowered her head to his shoulder, breathing in the scent of smoke and grinning when she stood up straight again. “That’s what this has been all about. I want you to know that. You were dating her and she ended up with bite wounds. You turned her blood to poison and it killed her.” She tilted her head, her expression becoming sympathetic, but Derek wasn’t so sure he could trust her ever again. “Oh, I know, you weren’t the one who bit her. Only an alpha can do that. But it was because of you that she was bitten. I probably could have just set your house on fire and been done with it, but that just wasn’t as much fun as playing with you, first. One day, you’ll understand. You might even thank me for it. That is, if you’re still alive. I’m giving you a grieving period, Derek. You have ninety days, and that’s more than generous. Although... hmm. I don’t know. Maybe I should just let you live with the guilt. It looks really good on you.”_

“Do you want ketchup?” Stiles held a plate out to Derek. 

“Uh, maybe?” Derek glanced down at the plate, suddenly ravenous. “I mean, if you want to get it? I don’t need it.” 

“I didn’t ask if you needed it.” Stiles opened the fridge and got the ketchup out, carrying it over to the table and sitting down. He poured ketchup on his cheeseburger and handed the bottle across the table, to Derek. 

“Thanks.” Derek spoke quietly, keeping his head down. “Can I use your computer, after this? And your shower?” He tore a piece of meat off of the burger and lifted it to his mouth.

“I’d let you just move in here, if I could find a way to explain to my dad that you’re a time-traveling werewolf.” Stiles blurted. 

Derek looked up at Stiles, feeling hopeful and terrified, and he wasn’t sure which emotion was stronger. Feeling anything at all was daunting, these days. “Don’t.” He said finally. “I need your help to stay away from people, not get closer to them.” 

“It wouldn’t matter.” Stiles shrugged. “I could tell him to his face, without any lead-up, that you are what you are, and he would accuse me of lying.” 

Derek frowned as he chewed and swallowed the bite he had taken of his cheeseburger. If he had to describe the way that Stiles had gone from happy to distressed, he would say that the guy across from him had wilted. 

“Don’t worry about it.” Stiles said quickly. “Mi casa, whatever, just don’t leave your dirty clothes on the bathroom floor.” He grabbed his plate and went into the living room. 

Derek wondered if he was supposed to follow, but he decided to stay in the kitchen, instead. He wasn’t sure if he had been the one to piss Stiles off, and he didn’t want to go ask. The answer was probably yes, anyway. He picked his burger up again and took another bite. After that, manners weren’t important. There was nobody to see him stuff his face, so he did just that. “Stiles?” He called out. “I’m going to use the shower, now.” 

“Okay!” Stiles turned up the volume on the tv. 

Derek reached for his bag of clothes, wondering if he should just forget everything and go home, but the idea of a hot shower was too good to pass up. He walked up the stairs, finding the bathroom easily enough because it smelled a little like mildew and scented body wash. He closed and locked the door, stripping out of his clothes as the water heated up. Like everything else in his life, this just reminded him of mistakes he had made. 

_”I’m trying to find the kind of stuff my girlfriend uses.” Derek smiled at the store clerk. “She shops here a lot. I know it has orange in it. I don’t think that’s going to help narrow it down?”_

_The woman laughed. “You’re right, it won’t help a lot. But you can smell everything, if you want? Maybe you’ll find what you’re looking for.”_

_Derek opened one bottle after another, breathing in the scent and discarding the ones that didn’t smell like Paige. He heard whispering a few feet away and glanced behind him as he put another bottle back._

_“You’re so weird.” Kara Simmons laughed. “What are you looking for, Hale?”_

_“Do you know Paige Krasikeva?” Derek asked, turning fully to face her._

_“Isn’t she one of the band geeks?” Kara scoffed._

_“Orchestra.” Derek corrected. “She plays the cello. We’ve been dating for awhile and I want to get her something I know she likes.”_

_“Boy, no girl wants scented bath shit from her boyfriend. No matter if she likes it or not, it says that you think she needs to bathe more.” Kara protested. “You wanna get her a gift, find something more personal. Heartfelt. Something that says you want her in your life for the rest of it. If you can’t see her as being your forever girl, you might as well break up with her. There ain’t no such thing as ‘I like you a little bit, but we’re temporary’ in gift-giving. But scented stuff comes close.”_

Lathering Stiles’ lemon-scented shower gel over his skin, Derek wasn’t sure if he felt relieved that it wasn’t the same scent he remembered Paige smelling like, or if he was disappointed that it was still citrus. Under the spray of hot water, he could close his eyes and pretend that he was still fifteen and didn’t know what terrified howls sounded like. He thought of mole-dotted skin and brown eyes, but it wasn’t Paige’s voice he imagined whispering to him as his hands slipped over his skin. He pushed the thoughts aside and treated his erection as a clinical problem that he had to resolve quickly, then made sure to clean up after himself when he was out of the shower and dressed. At the top of the stairs, he paused to listen, not sure if he should join Stiles on the couch or if he should climb out the window and run back to the woods. It felt like going down the stairs would make him a liar, and he wasn’t sure he deserved to be comfortable in anyone else’s presence. Not after the things he had done. But being on his own, out in the cold, made him wonder once again where Laura was and if she was all right. The realization that leaving would make it impossible to find out what had happened to her in the past six years was enough to make him walk down the stairs and sit by Stiles. 

“You look tired.” Stiles commented, pausing the tv. 

“Maybe a little.” Derek admitted. As soon as he said it, he yawned. Despite his frustration and the sadness he hadn’t been able to really get past since Paige died, he smiled faintly at Stiles, feeling slightly embarrassed. 

“Why don’t you go sleep in my room?” Stiles suggested. “I’ll look for information on everything and I’ll let you know what I’ve found out, in a couple of hours. A nap won’t kill you.” He cringed. “Bad choice of words. I’m sorry.” 

Derek nodded, suddenly exhausted and not willing to argue. Going to sleep sounded like an incredibly good idea, and he didn’t even realize that Stiles was following him up the stairs until he was laying down and the other teen was covering him with a blanket. 

“I have to get my laptop, anyway.” Stiles explained. “Don’t make it weird.” He walked over to his desk, unplugging the laptop as he spoke. “Good night, Derek.” 

“Night.” Derek repeated, closing his eyes.

* * *

Stiles plugged his headphones into his laptop and turned a playlist on, needing some background noise that wouldn’t have his eyes glued to the tv instead of the web searches he was about to get started on. He looked for information on Laura Hale in New York, since that was the last place Derek knew she was planning to be. It felt like looking for a needle in a haystack, since the name ‘Laura Hale’ was surprisingly common. He doubted that Derek knew Laura’s social security number, and even if he did, Stiles didn’t have the heart to wake him up and ask him for it. He ran a hand over his face and opened a new tab to look for information on time travel. Predictably, all he could find was fiction and he wondered why he had agreed to do anything at all. Unnerved, he took his headphones off and called Scott. “This is all your fault.” 

“That’s a weird way to say hello.” Scott retorted, laughing. “What did I do now?” 

“You convinced me to spend more time with Derek.” Stiles frowned. “He’s at my house right now, sleeping.” 

“Why is he sleeping?” Scott demanded. “Did you drug him or get him drunk? You didn’t have sex with him and make him tired, did you?” 

Stiles took his phone away from his ear and stared at it in disbelief. “Sure, absolutely.” He said sarcastically. “I did all of that over the course of the past three hours. I make it a habit to seduce guys I’ve just met, but the medication is just a back-up plan.” 

“I was just joking.” Scott’s tone was defensive. “I know you’re not like that. I want to see you happy with someone, but not against their will. That would be gross. Back to what you were saying. It’s my fault, somehow, that Derek is asleep at your house?” 

“I think you need to come over. We have to talk.” Stiles set his laptop on the coffee table. “There’s a lot going on and I don’t know if I can handle it by myself. Besides, some of it involves you.” 

“I’m on my way.” Scott said automatically. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out, okay?” 

Stiles made a noise of agreement, listening as Scott unlocked his bike chain and wheeled the bike down the front steps of his porch. He smiled to himself at how comforting it was that he recognized the noises from the amount of time he spent around his best friend. His only friend, to be technical, though he wondered if Derek would be considered a friend, too. Once Derek was back in his own time, he might not want anything to do with Stiles. The age gap was a decent excuse. He got up from the couch and watched out the window for Scott, not hanging up his phone until he saw Scott pedaling down the block. He unlocked the door and opened it, helping Scott drag the bike into the house and down the basement steps. He didn’t have a porch railing to lock the bike against. 

“So, did you ask him out?” Scott demanded, following Stiles back up the steps to the living room. 

“No!” Stiles blurted. “Keep your voice down. I think he might hear us, if he’s not asleep.” Seizing that as a topic of conversation, he looked at Scott. “You heard Allison say she needed a pen before class, didn’t you? That’s how you knew to give her one?” 

“Yeah?” Scott shrugged. “So?” 

“So?” Stiles repeated, annoyed. “You had a bite that healed overnight, you can hear things clearly from yards away, through walls, and I bet you can smell food cooking next door right now.” 

“Chicken teriyaki.” Scott replied, smiling widely. “What does that have to do with anything?” 

“You’re a werewolf.” Stiles muttered. “I bet you haven’t even felt like you needed your inhaler today.” 

“Well, no.” Scott agreed. “Which is a really good thing, since I lost it last night. In the woods.” 

“We’ll go get it when Derek wakes up.” Stiles assured Scott. “For now, you get to sit there while I rant about things and come to a conclusion without you having to say a word, like we usually do.” He ran a hand over the top of his head, grimacing. “It’s better than actually talking to myself. I promised to help find Derek’s sister, Laura. So I have to do that, and there’s also the fact that he time-traveled and wants to get back to two thousand-five.” He thought about explaining that Derek wasn’t Derek Wells, but Derek Hale, and decided that Scott was the kind of innocent person who would forget what was a secret and what was public knowledge. It was better to keep some things between himself and Derek. 

“Time travel?!” Scott yelled. “And you believe that?” 

“I have to.” Stiles murmured. “Look, there was this conversation I had with someone, back then. He and I were the only ones who were in the room at the time, and that person _was_ Derek. He reminded me of it. For me, that was six years ago. For him, it’s only been two weeks. So I have to help him.” 

“You can help him by calling Eichen House.” Scott muttered, sighing when Stiles glared at him. “I know, I’m sorry. I forget all the time that your mom was there for a little while. If you believe him, then he must have definitely said something convincing. You never want to trust anybody.” 

“Exactly.” Stiles nodded. “I wouldn’t trust him if he hadn’t told me this one thing. I’m telling you to trust me about the werewolf thing. Besides, I already looked into it.” He gestured to his laptop. “The full moon is this Friday. I know you and Allison were making plans to go to Lydia’s party together, but you need to cancel. You’re not ready. And there’s another thing.” He sighed. “Allison’s an Argent. The Argents set Derek’s house on fire, a few years back. He wanted me to warn you. He’s trying to keep you safe, too. I have to respect that.” 

“Allison wouldn’t do that. She’s nice.” Scott protested. 

“Slow down, Romeo.” Stiles retorted. “You’ve known her less than twenty-four hours. And you know how that play ended, right?” 

Scott shrugged, shaking his head at Stiles. “Romeo and Juliet? Everybody likes them, right?”

“Sure.” Stiles rolled his eyes. “Their families hated each other and they killed themselves because they weren’t allowed to be together. Great role models for romance.” 

“I must have missed that part.” Scott murmured, embarrassed. “But I’m not going to kill myself. And the Argents can’t hate me or my mom. They don’t even know us.” 

“They can hate werewolves.” Stiles pointed out. “Lots of people hate what they don’t understand. Like bisexuality, for instance.” He glanced away from his best friend, then looked back at him. “I’m going to come out. I think I need to tell my dad, at least. I wish there was a better expression for it, though? I’ve never seen myself as closeted. It’s more like I just haven’t dated, so there was never a reason to mention it at all? But that seems like an excuse, now.” 

“Do you want me here, when you do that?” Scott looked sympathetic. “I can back you up or whatever you need me to do.” 

Stiles smiled. “I don’t know.” He admitted. “I want to say yes to that, but I think it’s going to piss me off if I try to tell him I like guys and he doesn’t believe me, and you say the same thing and he listens to you.” 

“You think that would happen?” Scott frowned. 

“I think the last few times I’ve tried to tell him anything, he’s immediately looked at you to see if you would agree with what I was saying.” Stiles muttered. 

“To be fair, the last couple of times, you were lying.” Scott smiled. “So he was probably right not to believe you.” 

“Semantics!” Stiles heard his dad’s car alarm being set, in the driveway. “Well, I guess you might as well be here, when I do this.” He stood up, walking over to the stairs as the front door opened. “Hey, Dad!” 

“Christ.” John looked up at his son as he took off his shoes. “What the hell did you do now? You never greet me at the door unless you’re trying to distract me from something.” 

“Nothing?” Stiles made a face. “Um, nothing exactly, anyway. I have something I want to tell you, and it’s not a thing I did, so much as a thing I am?” 

“Failing a class?” John guessed, walking up the steps and passing his son on his way into the kitchen. “Hey, Scott!” 

“Hey, Sheriff!” Scott greeted Stiles’ father, grinning as he followed Stiles into the kitchen. 

Stiles faked a laugh as he sat down across from his father. “That was a great joke. The best.” He paused, wondering if there was a proper way to have a conversation like this, and then he was angry with himself for not looking it up and decided to just be blunt about it. “I’m bisexual.” He blurted. “I like guys and girls.” 

“I know what bisexual means, kid.” John retorted. “I’m old, but I’m not that old. Is this a diversionary tactic to stop me from punishing you for something? Like, I don’t know, being out in the woods last night, during a search for that body? You realize that you could have corrupted a crime scene? I can’t overlook that, the way I overlook the parking tickets and speeding tickets. Which I shouldn’t even be doing in the first damned place, but a mile over the speed limit is just some new deputy’s way of trying to kiss up to me, and they don’t realize that you’re my kid until it’s too late.” 

“No, that’s not it. But how is that going?” Stiles gave his dad a hopeful smile, sighing when the older man shook his head. “It was worth a try. I’m really trying to come out. You know? Maybe you think the timing is a thing, but it’s not.” 

“Except that you like Derek.” Scott interjected, grinning. 

“Ix-nay!” Stiles shook his head frantically. 

“Derek?” John repeated. “This wouldn’t happen to be Derek Wells, would it? Just before winter break started, I saw him wandering around downtown during school hours and I tried to convince him to come over to the car, but he ducked into an alley and I haven’t seen him since. It’s the damnedest thing, too.” He stared at his son. “He looked just like Derek Hale. Like he hadn’t aged a day. Kind of strange that somebody would go missing and his own sister couldn’t even find him, then he reappears like time stood still, just before she’s found dead in the woods.” 

“That was Laura Hale’s body?!” Scott yelled, horrified. 

“Scott. Shut up.” Stiles said carefully, not looking at his friend. “You weren’t there, you don’t know.” 

“Oh, right.” Scott gave the sheriff a sheepish smile. 

Stiles ran a hand over his face, sighing. “I’m sure that’s just coincidental.” 

“Yeah? Which part?” John demanded. 

“All of it?” Stiles shrugged. 

John Stilinski folded his hands over his stomach and leaned back in his seat. “Scott, you should go home right now.” 

“Yes, sir.” Scott gave Stiles an apologetic smile and went to the basement to get his bike, wheeling it up the stairs and outside. He closed the front door behind him. 

“I was never sure how to have this conversation with you.” John began. “Your mother and I had been married for about two months when I left for work one day and had to turn around and go right to the hospital as soon as I got there, because she was in labor. The thing is, she hadn’t been pregnant when I left the house. I’m not blaming you for her having dementia, but I figure having a full-term pregnancy in a matter of minutes just might be the thing that broke her. After that happened, I started asking around, but nobody could ever give me a clear answer. They thought it was one of those situations where she just didn’t know she was pregnant. DNA said you were mine, not that I even thought to question that. Hers wasn’t the only pregnancy like that, either. It’s pretty common around here. I didn’t know what to believe, but Derek Hale was another of those sort of deliveries, and that girl he dated, who died about a year before his house burned down? She was. When I was talking to her parents about her death, her mother cried and called her a miracle. She said Paige played the cello like an angel. She repeated that phrase a lot. She claimed that she was blessed by God.” 

“Is this leading up to you telling me I’m like Damien?” Stiles asked quietly. “I always kind of thought that Mom... that it was my fault. She accused me of trying to kill her, that one time. On the roof of the hospital.” 

“Her mind was broken.” John shook his head. “You’re not the easiest kid to take care of.” 

“Jeez, don’t sugarcoat it or anything.” Stiles muttered. 

“Shut up and listen for a second, just this once.” John said gently. “You’re not the easiest kid to take care of, but you’re still my kid. I don’t know that I believe in devils and angels. I’ve seen a lot of crap over the years, starting in my own house, growing up. But you’ve done as much taking care of me as I’ve done for you. I don’t know what’s going on in this town, but it’s not normal, that’s for sure.” He hesitated, then nodded to himself. “Laura Hale was bisected. The joggers only found the lower half of her body, and it was a clean cut. No jagged edges.”

Stiles grimaced, hoping that Derek was still asleep and couldn’t hear the conversation. “Okay.” He motioned for his dad to continue. He was still trying to process the circumstances of his birth, but he was grateful for the distraction. 

“We pulled phone records and found a photo of a deer with a spiral drawn on it in blood. Does that mean anything to you?” John got up and grabbed a beer from the fridge, sitting down to open it. 

“No.” Stiles shook his head. “But my first guess would be some kind of voodoo thing. Or maybe Celtic pagan.” 

“Do I want to know how you came up with those guesses?” John frowned. 

“Salem witch trials paper I had to write in eighth grade, along with a wiki spiral.” Stiles held a hand up to stop his father from voicing the question he was sure would be asked. “Not like the spiral on a deer. Like, one wikipedia page after another, kind of spiral. More like an internet-addiction problem. Can we talk a little more about me being full-term in twenty minutes’ time?” 

“Do we have to?” John grumbled. “I sort of hoped that if I never mentioned it, it wouldn’t be important.” 

“Nice try?” Stiles snorted. “I’m pretty sure I’m not evil. I’d like to think that I would know, if I was. Or that you would have seen it a lot sooner than today.” 

“I appreciate that.” John said dryly. “I’m thinking that Derek Hale disappeared after his house burned down, to avoid being questioned further about it. Whatever happened in the past six years is irrelevant, since he hasn’t aged a day. I’m assuming he had a DeLorean somewhere. Or maybe Laura burned the house down and Derek had to wait for the right opportunity to kill her. With a sword.” He closed his eyes for a second, wanting to take back the entire discussion, but he had a feeling that his son could help.

“Let’s say I had an idea of where Derek’s been staying.” Stiles grabbed the salt shaker and started passing it back and forth between his hands, on the table. “And there’s no way that he would have killed his sister, because he came to me to ask for help in finding her. Sure, that sounds like a great alibi, but if somebody were able to travel six years into the future, maybe they really wouldn’t know where to find their only living relative. The internet is a lot different now, too. We have Twitter and Facebook. Anyway, someone whose last experience with the internet was in two thousand and five might not know what those things are, or that just about everyone has one. He might come to the only person he remembers from back then, which for him was just about two weeks ago, and see if that person can help him with some stuff.” 

“And that someone is you.” John shook his head, eyeing his beer and wishing for something stronger. “Tell me everything that’s happened with you in the past twenty-four hours, and then we’ll get into the weird birth thing.” 

“Got it.” Stiles cracked his knuckles. “I heard the phone call you got about the body in the woods. I waited for you to be gone about ten minutes, before I went to find Scott. Ten minutes is about how long it takes to guarantee that you’re officially gone and won’t be coming back for something you forgot. It’s kind of a bad habit you have. Moving on... I convinced Scott to come with me to look for half of a dead body because he’s always complaining about how boring Beacon Hills is. I thought this would be something to get him to appreciate the less exciting aspects. Also, finding a corpse sounded awesome, like something out of Stand By Me, you know? Only, you found me, and Scott hid behind a tree to keep himself out of trouble. He was bitten by a werewolf, and this morning, the wound was gone when he was going to show it to me. Then Derek was one of the new students, and so was Allison Argent. Derek told me to keep Scott away from Allison because her family burned his house down. The rest of the day was pretty normal, except I felt bad for Derek being stuck with nobody to help him, so I bought him some stuff, and then I invited him here and he ate dinner, took a shower and fell asleep in my bed. Where he is right now, actually. So that was my day. How was yours?” 

“God damn it.” John put the cap back on his beer. “I need bourbon for this. Anything else you want to tell me? Do I need to buy you condoms?” 

“Oh my god, no!” Stiles slumped in his seat. 

“Safe sex is-” 

“Not happening. No sex is happening. Jesus christ, I’m trying to deal with the fact that I’m something out of a science fiction movie, I don’t want to even think about sex right now. Even if I did want to think about it, it kind of requires someone else wanting to have it with me, and that’s less likely than me being born after an hour of gestation.” 

“Twenty minutes.” John corrected. 

“Hey, I don’t know what the hell was happening in this house before I existed.” Stiles countered. “I’m just assuming that you didn’t leave immediately after...” He waved a hand, not wanting to finish his sentence. “Like, you at least took a shower. Don’t correct me if I’m wrong.” 

It took a few more seconds before John caught up with the rest of Stiles’ recounting of his day and he yelled, “Werewolves?!” 

“Yep.” Stiles nodded. “So... did I do anything cool as a baby, like levitate blocks or whatever?” 

“No, you’ve always been normal. Normal enough.” John teased. “This fucking town... maybe we can move somewhere safer. Like Los Angeles during the riots in ‘ninety-two. Derek could help with that, right?” 

“Not funny, and no, he can’t. One of the reasons he asked for my help is because he can’t go back to the night of the fire, where he came from.” Stiles cleared his throat, looking up at his dad. “I’m pretty sure that my friends, all two of them, are a lot more innocent than me. Even with the stuff Derek’s been through, it’s like... I feel like I should be protecting him. I felt like that when I was ten, too. It hasn’t changed. And the fact that he asked me to help him kind of says a lot. Except for Scott, people at school avoid me. He could have gone to Danny, who’s really good with computers. Maybe it’s just that he knows who I am? The point is, I’m going to help him, however I can. I don’t know how to tell him about Laura. I don’t want to be the one to break the news to him that he’s the last Hale.” 

“He’s not.” John shook his head. “Peter. His uncle. He’s in a coma, so he’s not going to be much help.” 

“Hold on.” Stiles lifted a hand, thinking. “If Scott was bitten by a werewolf and Derek’s a werewolf, but didn’t bite him, and Laura was already dead when Scott was bitten, then that just leaves Peter. Unless there are other werewolves around here.” 

“You could just ask me.” Derek said quietly. “There are two other packs, but one of them is sort of the Amish equivalent of werewolves. More primal. They don’t turn people. They stick to being born wolves. The other one has an alpha who would never turn anyone against their will. If Laura-” He sighed. “With Laura being dead, and the power not passing on to me, it must have gone to Peter. But that would have healed him. He wouldn't be in a coma anymore. And I just saw him last night. He’s definitely still incapacitated.” 

“I’m a miracle baby.” Stiles blurted, hoping to get Derek to stop thinking about his sister’s death. 

“I heard.” Derek muttered. “I’ve been awake since just before Scott left. I just wasn’t sure I should be here. I was going to climb out the window, but I didn’t know how much noise that would make.” 

“Well, the good news is that my dad is going to help.” Stiles murmured. “Sit down. Are you still hungry?” 

Derek waited for John to nod at him before he took a seat at the table. “I could eat.” He shrugged. 

Stiles got up and started moving around the kitchen as he spoke, pouring cereal into a bowl because it was faster than cooking anything. “First, we’ll go back to the house and get your stuff, and bring it here. You can sleep in the basement, if you want. Or on the couch. Or I could sleep on the couch and you could sleep in my room. I’d suggest we both sleep in my room, but my dad thinks that I’m going to hump anything in sight, and that’s sexist and unfair, but maybe a little bit valid.” He added milk to the bowl and set it down in front of Derek, then got him a spoon. “There’s no way in hell you’re staying in that house. It’s not really what I would call livable.” 

Derek stared at Stiles, then turned his head to look at John. “Is any of this okay with you, sir?” 

“I have a feeling that I don’t get a vote.” John scoffed. “It doesn’t matter anyway, since he’s right. You can’t stay there, and you need an adult to vouch for you. You might’ve been sixteen six years ago, but you’re still sixteen now, aren’t you?” 

“I think so?” Derek murmured. 

“Then you’re staying here.” John said firmly. 

“Yeah, you have to stay here.” Stiles added, sitting back down with his own bowl of cereal. 

Derek had been prepared to protest, but he suddenly didn’t want to argue anymore. “Okay.” He nodded. “Um, do I need to ident-” He cleared his throat. “Identify my sister?” 

“No, because we found the upper half this morning.” John winced when the words were out of his mouth. “Fuck. Look, I know that was a shitty way to say it. I’m used to this one.” He gestured at Stiles. “He’s been going through my files since he was old enough to read, and no amount of me trying to lock him out of my office made a damned bit of difference. There’s no way to really broach any of this without sounding like I’m unaffected, but that’s part of the job. Believe me, I’m affected. This is going to be an adjustment for the three of us, but you’ll stay here. And you’ll keep going to school. Both of you. No ditching to go play amateur detective, Stiles. I mean it.” 

“Amateur?” Stiles protested. 

“Until you have a license, you’re not a professional.” John rubbed his eyes. “Now, if you two don’t mind, I’m going to bed and sleeping for the next ten hours. Don’t stay up too late, and don’t be out past curfew.” He looked at Derek. “I’m telling this to you because I know he never listens. Make sure you’re both back here by eleven.” 

“Yes, sir.” Derek smiled weakly.


	3. Chapter 3

“Is that the last of it?” Stiles smiled at Derek when the werewolf put all of his new belongings into the back of the Jeep. The drive out to the house had been quiet, and he hadn’t bothered trying to make conversation, since he was trying to come to terms with what his dad had told him about his birth. He had wondered a couple of times if this was an elaborate prank that was payback for all of the pranks he had played over the years, but his dad’s idea of vengeance was making him mow the lawn for a month or cleaning the gutters of someone else’s house. Pranks had been something his mom enjoyed. 

“Yeah, everything but Scott’s inhaler. We still need to get that for him, right?” Derek stepped back to get out of the way as Stiles closed the back of the Jeep. 

“Yeah.” Stiles turned to look out at the woods. “I think if we go back to where we came into the woods, we might be able to retrace our steps? I’m going to need one of the flashlights you just put away, though.” 

“No need.” Derek’s eyes glowed bright blue, and he shrugged one shoulder at Stiles. “I might as well make use of them, right?” A second later, he wrapped an arm around Stiles’ waist and pulled him around the Jeep, to the driver’s side. With his free hand, he yanked the door open and pushed Stiles toward the seat. “Get in, shut the doors and lock them. Just do it.” 

Stiles was going to argue, but he heard a snarl and snapping jaws. He twisted around on the seat and reached for Derek’s shirt in an effort to get him to safety, but Derek moved back and shut the door, then ran. Stiles screamed at the sight of a red-eyed blur. 

The alpha stopped mid-stride, lowering one raised paw to the ground and turning to look directly at Stiles. Lips pulled back from fangs in a cruel smile, and he stood up on his hind legs and started walking toward the driver’s side door. 

Derek threw a rock, hitting the alpha in the side of the head. 

Stiles started the Jeep, his fingers shaking as he shifted into drive and slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, his eyes squeezed shut because he didn’t want to see the alpha bleeding out from impact. When a few seconds passed and he hadn’t hit anything, he put his foot down on the brake and rested his head on the steering wheel. 

“He’s gone.” Derek got into the passenger side of the Jeep. “The second you hit the gas, he ran. I think Scott’s inhaler is going to have to wait.” 

“Yeah.” Stiles muttered. “Let’s never do that again.” He sat up. “Seriously, what the hell were you thinking? He could have killed you. If it even is a he. It’s not like I was looking for werewolf penis.” 

Derek stared at Stiles, then started laughing. “Werewolf penis?” He repeated. “We were almost attacked and you’re concerned about pronouns?” 

“I’ve had a weird day!” Stiles blurted, grinning. “Sue me for trying to be considerate.” He drove away from the house, glancing over at Derek. “Okay, we’re not telling my dad about this.” He licked his lips. “He’ll never let me leave the house again, and he’ll start driving us both to school in the cruiser. Not that I have much of a social life to speak of, but that would be certain death. What we _are_ going to do is treat the rest of this week like it’s an ordinary week. At least, while we’re at school. And then on Friday, we’re going to Lydia’s party. I have a feeling that Scott isn’t going to listen to me about staying home, and you and I are going to have to be on guard duty to keep him from losing control of himself.” 

“Perfect.” Derek sighed. “Couldn’t we just tie him to a chair?” 

“You want to explain that one to my dad?” Stiles put his hand on Derek’s shoulder. “Wait. Maybe that could work. I think if I told my dad that Scott’s not in control of himself yet, we might be able to keep him in the basement all night. He might even help us set up a cage. Or something less creepy.” 

Derek wrapped a hand carefully around Stiles’ wrist and moved the other boy’s hand off of his shoulder. “Don’t touch me.” He said evenly. “Nothing personal.” 

“Got it.” Stiles glanced over at Derek when they were safely on the road. “Sorry.” 

Derek nodded, wrapping his arms around his waist. He didn’t say anything until they were in the Stilinskis’ driveway, taking a deep breath because words felt like they were too hard to use, lately. “I saw that you have a waffle iron. It was plugged in, so it’s not broken?” 

“Yes?” Stiles kept his hands on the steering wheel, even though he was used to Scott, who hugged him and accepted his hugs at every opportunity. “Are you trying to ask me for waffles, before school tomorrow?” 

“I can make them myself!” Derek frowned at himself for his outburst. “I mean, unless you want to make them for me. But you don’t have to. I don’t need you to do anything. I’m only staying here because your dad would probably have me arrested if I didn’t.” 

“Sure.” Stiles shook his head, not believing that for a second. He lifted both hands from the steering wheel as he turned toward Derek. “I’m going to hug you because we just encountered the alpha and we’re okay. You can consider that a sort of pre-payment thing for the waffles I’ll make tomorrow. No hug, no waffles. Come on.” 

“I think you should be told that this is why you’re not popular.” Derek remarked, but he leaned toward Stiles and let the other teen wrap both arms around him. 

“That’s not a hug.” Stiles muttered. “A hug is a mutual thing.” 

“I could disembowel you with my claws.” Derek murmured.

“Okay, let’s not do that.” Stiles let go of Derek and got out of the Jeep, circling around to the back to grab some of the things he had bought earlier that day. “Having someone hug you isn’t supposed to make you violent. That’s the opposite reaction you should be having.” 

“Well, being hugged without permission is assault.” Derek took the bag from Stiles, then started gathering the other bags. “Just go unlock the door and open it for me. I’ve got this.” 

Stiles walked up to the front door and fumbled with his keys, glancing over his shoulder at Derek as he wondered why he already had a crush on him. It was a problem, and he knew it. Being threatened with organ removal shouldn’t have made him more interested. Maybe it was the fact that Derek wouldn’t tolerate his behavior. Except by that logic, Stiles also had a crush on Mr. Harris, and that was gross. He gagged, shaking his head at himself. 

“Are you okay?” Derek frowned. 

“Yeah, I just think too much.” Stiles muttered, opening the door. He moved out of the way to let Derek into the house first, then followed him in and shut the door, locking it behind him. “Where are you planning to sleep? Am I being kicked out of my bedroom?” 

“As comfortable as your bed is, I’m not going to do that to you.” Derek shook his head. “I can sleep on the couch.” 

“Or?” Stiles hesitated. “This isn’t me trying to manipulate you, just so we’re clear. You don’t have to sleep in the living room. You could sleep in my room while I’m _also_ sleeping in my room.” 

“I didn’t forget that you said something about humping anything in sight.” Derek rolled his eyes. “I’ll be fine on the couch. I don’t want you that close.” 

“Right.” Stiles nodded. “Smart decision. Good night.” He went into his room, closing the door. 

Derek hated the guilt that pooled in his stomach. He knew he had upset Stiles, it was practically pouring off of him in waves. But he wasn’t going to compromise himself for anyone ever again. He spread the sleeping bag out on the couch, covering himself with half of it while he laid down on the other half. He was surrounded by the scent of lemons and that felt annoying because of how comfortable he was, since he was still certain that he didn’t deserve to be. It didn’t matter how much he had craved it for the past two weeks. 

Stiles’ bedroom door opened, and he walked back down the hall to the living room, peering down at Derek. “Do you want a bottle of water?” He asked quietly. 

“Yes, please.” Derek sat up, twisting around on the couch to keep the sleeping bag wrapped around him like a blanket as he put his feet down on the floor, while Stiles came back with a bottle of water for him. “If I tell you some things, will you just shut up and let me talk?” 

“Absolutely.” Stiles sat at the other end of the couch, watching Derek. 

“Allison’s Aunt Kate manipulated me.” Derek cleared his throat, taking a drink from his bottle of water. “I haven’t been able to talk to anyone else about this, and I thought maybe I’d find Laura and tell her, but she’s gone.” He looked over at Stiles. “I don’t even know if I can trust you. I barely even trust myself, anymore. But it hurts. I got Paige killed, and then my whole family. Peter might as well be dead. Um. She - Paige played the cello and she got mad at me and some of my friends for making too much noise in the hallway while she was trying to practice, after school. I was kind of an asshole.” He sighed. “I liked her, though. So I stopped spending as much time with those guys and started spending more time with her. I wanted to get her something nice for Valentine’s Day, when we were fifteen. Last year.” He grimaced. “Or whatever. Nothing seemed right, and then Peter told me that I should get an alpha to bite her, turn her. She could be part of the pack. I didn’t know that it might kill her. It did kill her.” He looked up at Stiles. “That’s why my eyes are blue, when I shift. Guilt. It took awhile, but I had quit basketball and anything that reminded me of her. I was going to join the swim team with my friend Camden, since his dad was the coach and that kind of gave us special privileges. It was like everything was back to normal? Maybe Kate thought I hadn’t learned my lesson. She was the new assistant swim coach and she convinced me to stay late one night, then kissed me. I thought she was beautiful and not in the way that Paige had been beautiful. She was different. She wasn’t shy.” He rubbed his eyes. “She just said one day that she knew I was a werewolf. I was kind of freaked out because Paige had said the same thing. But Kate was relentless. She manipulated me, but I let her. I told her about tunnels under the house, and she used them to start a fire. She barricaded them in. I wasn’t home at the time. I had a swim meet. Laura was with some friends. Everyone else died. Some of them were human. That doesn’t matter to her. She found me, afterward. She said that it was all because of what I had done to Paige. I got scared and ran, and ended up here. I probably don’t even deserve to be here with you.” Derek shook his head. “I get everyone killed.” 

“I don’t believe that.” Stiles frowned. “I think that what happened with Paige was an accident because you weren’t informed about the consequences, and someone should have told you. Kate’s vendetta against you was bullshit. She groomed you. That’s the actual term for it, it’s a whole thing. I can show you statistics. Maybe you shouldn’t have told her about the tunnels.” He shook his head when Derek looked over at him. “But you were - _are_ \- sixteen. Not everyone grows up in a cop’s house. You didn’t know what was happening to you. You were lonely and she took advantage of that. If it hadn’t been you, it would have been someone else. Maybe she would have been a preschool teacher or a secretary, to get close to a different Hale. She invented a reason and it made sense to you, so you’ve been holding onto that.” 

“Ten year old you would have just given me a candy bar.” Derek muttered. 

“I can do that, too!” Stiles smiled. “But things are different now. I never would have described myself as an idealist, not even back then. But I’m a lot older than the kid you knew two weeks ago.” 

“It’s not weird for you?” Derek set his bottle on the coffee table, smirking a little when Stiles immediately lifted it to put a coaster underneath. “Sorry.” 

“Is it weird for you?” Stiles sat back down, a little closer to Derek this time, but still keeping distance between them. “For me, time has progressed normally. It’s okay if you don’t want to like me because you still think of me as being a little kid, even though I’m not now.” 

“I don’t want to think about you in any regard.” Derek looked pained. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. Words suck.” 

“Okay?” Stiles said gently. “Then I’ll say some stuff, and if you agree with it, you nod. If you don’t, just shake your head. Sound good?” 

Derek nodded. 

“You feel lost, and you miss your family.” 

Derek nodded again, sighing. That didn’t take a rocket scientist. 

“You hate Spongebob.” Stiles smirked. 

“What? What the hell does that have to do with anything I just told you?” Derek wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cry, since he was obviously sitting next to a crazy person. 

“It doesn’t.” Stiles said easily. “But at least we’re developing a baseline for what makes it easier on you, when you have something you need to say. If I piss you off, you don’t care what we’re talking about, you’ll have a conversation.” 

Derek felt uncertain, but he had to agree that Stiles wasn’t wrong. “Okay, anger works.” He agreed. “Go ahead?” 

“You...” Stiles paused, trying to tread carefully. “You want to have the world be back to normal, but you know that can’t happen and it’s terrifying.” 

Derek nodded once more, tightening the blanket around him. 

“I’m going to hug you again.” Stiles insisted, moving closer and putting his arms around Derek. “Because someone should, not because I’m trying to manipulate you. I wouldn't do that to you. I get that it’s easy enough for me to say that, and much harder for you to believe it. But I’m not going to say anything else. I’m just going to sit here with you.” 

Derek turned his head, resting his cheek on Stiles’ shoulder and closing his eyes as they welled with tears. He felt like an overgrown baby and didn’t want to open his mouth, afraid he might start sobbing. He just stayed silent while Stiles rubbed his back, and he fell asleep shortly thereafter.

* * *

“Don’t wake Derek up.” Stiles warned Scott, the next morning. “He’s really had it rough. If he decides to ditch today, I wouldn’t blame him. I promised him waffles, though.” 

“Waffles? Is that code for something else?” Scott grinned.

“Don’t be gross.” Stiles shook his head. “I know that’s the kind of joke we would have made two days ago, but then yesterday happened. I’m processing a lot of shit right now. Not literally. Nothing is wrong with my bowels. Despite the threat of them being removed.” 

Derek snorted, unable to hide the fact that he was awake. “You deserved that.” He sat up, stretching his arms over his head. “Waffles?” 

“In a few minutes.” Stiles assured him. “Blueberry or chocolate chip?” 

Derek stood up. “You can do that? Can you do both?” 

“I can do half of one and half of the other?” Stiles offered. 

“Sounds good.” Derek grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom. 

“I feel a little bit jealous right now.” Scott whined. “I want waffles!” 

“He earned his waffles.” Stiles grimaced when he realized how that might sound to someone who didn’t know what the night before had been like. “Didn’t your mother feed you?” 

“She makes me fend for myself.” Scott pouted. 

“You’re pathetic.” Stiles grinned. “I hope Allison doesn’t regret her choice to date you. Except that you need to cancel on her. You didn’t do it yet, did you? Nope. You know what? No waffles.” 

Scott put his head down, sighing. “I really like her. And I really like waffles.” 

“This is a serious dilemma.” Stiles said dryly. 

Derek walked back out to the kitchen, glancing at Scott. “What’s his problem?” 

“You weren’t eavesdropping?” Stiles tilted his head. 

“I like to let people have their privacy.” Derek murmured. 

“Noted. Eavesdropping can be avoided. He wants waffles and Allison, and I told him that since he didn’t cancel their date - which is no surprise, by the way - he can’t have waffles. Now he’s sad.” Stiles explained. 

“There are millions of women on the planet.” Derek smiled at Scott when the other teen sat up again. “And I’m not looking for any of them, so that just increases your chances.” 

Stiles blinked. “Holy shit, it was like Jackson was in here with us, for a second. Must be a jock thing.” 

“How do nerds handle this?” Derek sat down by Scott. 

“We create shrines to Lydia Martin and wait for the day when there’s nobody else in the hallway and she has to be confronted with our existence. And by ‘we’ and ‘our,’ I mean me. Just me. I’m pathetic, too.” Stiles grinned at Scott. “I understand why you don’t want to cancel. But you just became a werewolf, and that’s like - the Incredible Hulk is Bruce Banner most of the time, right? But he still had to learn to control the Hulk.” He looked over at Derek. “And since this is the first full moon since... things... maybe you shouldn’t go to the party, either. Which you can like, do a dance about later or whatever, since you didn’t want to go in the first place. And I guess that means that I’m also staying away from it, because someone has to keep you two company while you’re trying to not be ragemonsters. It’s fine, Lydia wouldn’t have noticed me, anyway. Too many other people.” 

“How long has he liked her?” Derek asked Scott, while Stiles was busying himself with making waffles. 

“Since third grade.” Scott laughed. “I feel bad for laughing, but he won’t let go. He’s wanted her for years and he’s never just asked her out or even told her that he likes her. He says the dumbest things around her and she just walks right past him. He deserves someone who won’t do that to him.” He gave Derek a pointed look. “Well, since I’m not getting waffles, I’m just going to stop off for a bagel, before school. Bye, you two.” 

Stiles set a plate down in front of Derek, then put on on the other side of the table, for himself. “Ignore him.” He blurted. “He means well, but you have to keep in mind that he doesn’t know what I know, and I’m not going to tell him unless you say I can. Which was absolutely not my way of asking for permission. I’m just letting you know.” 

“You can relax.” Derek frowned, cutting his waffle into bite-sized pieces. “Scott seems like the kind of guy who says the wrong thing for the right reasons.” 

“What kind of guy am I?” Stiles looked curious as he poured syrup over his waffle and set the bottle back down. 

“You’re the kind of guy who makes waffles for someone and claims it’s for no reason, but you’re lying through your teeth because you want something.” Derek sat back, looking up at Stiles. “So, I guess, the kind of guy who says the right thing for the wrong reasons. Scott’s opposite.” 

“Fair.” Stiles murmured. “Okay. I was kind of wondering if you would go ask Lydia what she thinks about me and report back? I really do like her and I guess I’m kind of lonely, too. It’s not easy being interested in someone and having them never even stop to say hello to you in the hallway. I know you went through some shit, but there’s that whole, uh, loved and lost thing? I’ve never had a chance.” 

Derek pushed his plate away, sitting back and folding his arms across his chest. “I’m not going to be your litmus test on whether or not Lydia likes you. If she’s never paid attention to you, you’re probably lucky. I’ve known her for about seven hours and she seems like a bitch.” 

“Take that back.” Stiles frowned. “You don’t know her like I do.” 

“No, because I don’t follow her around and stalk her on Twitbook.” Derek snapped. 

“Facebook and Twitter... never mind.” Stiles snorted. “That’s actually more accurate than you even know. Twitbook. I might have to use that later. The point is, she’s a genius and she deserves to have the world see her that way, but she would rather date Jackson and pretend she’s stupid, and I don’t understand that.” 

“She’s not worth your time. Especially not if she’s hiding who she really is. And you’re not that bad. If you would actually look around you a little more, maybe you’d see someone who likes you, instead of waiting for someone who is never going to like you to change her mind.” Derek pointed out. “I don’t want to argue with you. I just want to go to school and have a normal day, and then find my way back to my own time. I don’t belong here.” 

“Right after school, I’ll build you a freaking time machine out of popsicle sticks and pinwheels. I don’t want you here anymore, either.” Stiles muttered. “At least we agree on that. But I’ll still drive you to school.” 

“Sorry I insulted your princess.” Derek rolled his eyes and got up, grabbing his coat and his backpack. He hadn’t done any homework, but he didn’t care. He felt a little vindictive and couldn’t resist adding, “I think I’m going to see if Finstock will let me play lacrosse. We can’t all sit on the bench for an entire season.” 

“You’re an asshole!” Stiles called out to Derek. “Just come back here and finish your breakfast, and then we’ll go.” 

Derek wanted to argue, but his stomach rumbled and he went back into the kitchen, shrugging out of his coat and sitting down. He pulled his plate toward him again and took a few bites of what remained of his waffle. “I don’t want to be used.” He looked up at Stiles. “Not for any reason, but definitely not as some kind of go-between for you and Lydia. If you like her so much, you need to talk to her yourself. Just tell her how you feel about her, in a relatively polite kind of way. Don’t be stupid about it. If she’s not interested, at least you tried.” 

“Even with knowing what you went through, I think it’s still easier for you to say that than it is for me. I get overlooked all the time. If it wasn’t for Scott, I’d swear I was invisible. Unless someone is pissed off at me, and then I get plenty of attention.” Stiles shrugged. “I’m just ordinary. I’m not a werewolf or able to time travel.” 

“I can do more than that.” Derek sat up straight. “Do you want to see?” 

“Sure, go for it.” Stiles murmured. 

Derek stood up, making sure he had Stiles’ full attention before he disappeared from view and reappeared behind the boy, dragging his chair out from the table. 

“How?” Stiles demanded, tilting his head back to look up at Derek. 

“I don’t know how it works, exactly. Just that my mom could never keep me in my playpen or my crib.” Derek smiled. “I can’t go long distances, so it’s not exactly teleportation. It’s more like I have a straight line in front of me, and I’m at the start of it and I can get to the end point, without having to walk there. I drive - drove - my sisters nuts with the way I would make myself a snack in the kitchen, after school. Mostly because they couldn’t do it.” 

Stiles was quiet, noting the sad look in Derek’s eyes before he spoke again. “Have you ever seen Spider-Man?” 

“No? Why?” Derek frowned. 

“No reason.” Stiles sat up straight, getting out of his chair and running water over their breakfast plates before he turned toward Derek. “We should get going.”

* * *

On Friday night, Stiles set a stack of dvds on the table beside the couch in the basement. He checked the strength of the iron chains he had picked up from the hardware store, glancing up at Derek. “Scott refused to cancel his plans with Allison, so we can either let him deal with his own shit or go get him and drag him back here. Your choice.” 

“If you leave him to himself, you’re risking him getting murdered.” Derek pointed out. 

“So we’re going to get him, then.” Stiles nodded. “Got it.” He let go of the chains, wincing when they hit the floor. “How feral does the full moon make you guys, exactly? Do I need tranquilizer darts?” 

“Do you know where you can _get_ tranquilizer darts?” Derek shook his head in amusement. In the past week, he had started to adjust to both Stilinskis and their ridiculous questions. “Don’t wear that to the party.” He went up the stairs to Stiles’ room and started going through his clothes, glancing over when Stiles finally caught up to him. “If you’re trying to get Lydia to notice you, you’re not going to have it happen while you’re wearing a t-shirt with something stupid written on it.” 

“What’s wrong with ‘stud muffin?’” Stiles frowned. 

“So much.” Derek tossed a white button-up shirt at Stiles. “It’s not the best thing you could be wearing, but it’s the best thing you have.” 

“Thanks?” Stiles took his shirt off, then put his arms through the sleeves of the new one and started to button it. 

“It’s crooked... you’re hopeless.” Derek smacked Stiles’ hands and unbuttoned the shirt to try to fix it. 

“I’m going to pretend I’m not seeing that.” John commented, shaking his head as he stood in the doorway. “I was going to ask if you wanted pizza, but I guess you have other plans?” 

Stiles looked horrified. “We’re going to Lydia’s!” He blurted, waving his hands and whining when Derek smacked him again for moving too much. “And apparently, I’m only two years old. Also, don’t think your attempt to make me feel awkward made me overlook that you’re trying to have pizza. There’s salad in the fridge, and that’s what you’re having for dinner. I can button my own shirt!” 

“Not from what I saw.” Derek smirked as he stood up straight. “We’re not going to be there very long. We’re just ambushing Scott and bringing him back here, before he, uh...” He glanced at Stiles. 

“Turns into a ragemonster.” Stiles nodded. “Tonight is really just a research thing. If the full moon messes them up and they can’t regain control, we’ll know better for next time.” 

“Don’t murder my son.” John told Derek. “If you’re having trouble controlling yourself and he gets hurt, I might actually have to shoot you.” 

“I’m going to be careful.” Derek said quietly. 

“He already hurt me, though.” Stiles shoved Derek playfully, pouting when it didn’t cause him to move at all. “What the hell, are you made out of concrete?” 

“No.” Derek smirked. He could practically feel the way that Stiles’ father was studying him intently, all of a sudden. He cleared his throat nervously and went downstairs to get his jacket. Every time he started to relax enough to wonder if it would be all right to admit that he was becoming attracted to Stiles, he remembered what had happened with Paige and Kate, and he figured it was something that John was never going to forget about. That was probably better in the long run, anyway. For Stiles’ sake. 

“Are you okay?” Stiles asked carefully, giving him a concerned look. “You can stay here and I can get Scott myself. All I have to do is threaten to tell his mom some of the shit he’s done in the past year, and he’ll cry a little and tell me I’m an asshole, but he’ll come back here with me.” 

“I want to come with you.” Derek hoped he wasn’t blushing at the dual meaning of that phrase. “I kind of don’t want to be alone with your dad.” He said quickly, trying to cover his embarrassment. “I think he doesn’t like me.” 

“No, he doesn’t like me.” Stiles corrected Derek, shrugging. He opened the front door and went out to the Jeep. 

“He lets you get away with a lot of stuff.” Derek fastened his seatbelt and looked over at Stiles. “If he didn’t like you, he probably wouldn’t tolerate your dietary restrictions.” 

“He just doesn’t want me to be an orphan.” Stiles grimaced as soon as the words left his mouth. “I can never decide what’s worse, me saying something stupid, or trying to apologize afterward like, ‘oh yeah, in case you forgot, your family died.’” He tried to gauge Derek’s reaction, but it wasn’t always easy. “I’m shutting up.” 

Derek snorted. “You never do.” 

“Okay, I’m shutting up about orphans. No singing ‘Tomorrow’ or talking about the Artful Dodger.” Stiles pulled out of the driveway. “Do you know Harley? She likes you.” 

“I’m not interested.” Derek said firmly. 

“I get that, but hear me out?” Stiles glanced over at him. “Okay, right now, dating isn’t a thing you want to do, and neither is going to a party. You kind of don’t want to be around people at all, right? But objectively, there’s going to have to be a point when that changes. It doesn’t have to be tonight or even next month, but you don’t want to be a ninety-year-old monk. So maybe you should just have small goals? Say hi to some people tonight, say yes if someone invites you to something next weekend, whatever. And, you know, if someone is on your nerves, text me and I’ll come irritate them until they leave you alone.” He grinned. 

“Okay.” Derek grabbed his new phone from his pocket and sent a text. 

Stiles pulled over to the side of the road and dutifully checked his phone, reading Derek’s text out loud. “‘You’re on my nerves.’ That’s adorable. You should see if Hallmark is hiring.” He rolled his eyes and pulled back onto the road. “Besides, I can’t irritate myself.” 

“Pity.” Derek smirked when Stiles gave him an incredulous look. “I just want to get Scott and come back home.” He blinked. “To your house.” 

“Our house.” Stiles smiled. “It’s okay to think of it as yours. You live there now, anyway.” 

“Stiles!” Derek snapped, angry with himself for losing sight of what he knew he had to do. The last few days had been great, but... “I have to get back to my year. I can’t be here forever.” 

“I know.” Stiles said quickly. 

“You’re a bad liar.” Derek muttered. 

“Sure.” Stiles knew he was a better liar than Derek wanted to give him credit for, because when the other teen had suggested he look nice for Lydia, he had just barely stopped himself from asking who Lydia was, and he still felt unsettled about that. He didn’t spend every second with Derek, but he was eating lunch with him while Scott was sitting with Lydia, Jackson and Allison, and it was strange how he didn’t miss Scott as much as he thought he would have. It was like Derek had filled gaps that Stiles hadn’t known existed. He didn’t say anything for the rest of the drive, his stomach in knots as he wondered how truthful Derek’s text had been. When he parked in front of Lydia’s neighbor’s house, he got out and rubbed his hands together, then went inside without waiting to see if Derek was behind him. 

Derek smiled at Lydia when he saw her. “Hi.” 

“Hi.” Lydia repeated, tilting her head as she stopped walking and looked at him. “Derek Wells, right?” 

Derek almost corrected her, but caught himself in time and nodded. “Yeah.” 

“You’re the Sheriff’s foster son, aren’t you?” Lydia’s smile widened when Derek nodded. “You should come meet Allison. You’re both new to the school and honestly, I don’t know why she’s wasting her time with Scott.” 

“No thanks.” Derek blurted, taking a deep breath and trying to control himself when Lydia grabbed his wrist. “I’m already seeing someone.” He yanked his arm out of her grasp. 

“Who are you dating?” Lydia demanded, turning to face Derek. 

Derek hated confrontation, ever since what had happened with Paige. He knew that Lydia wouldn’t leave him alone until he gave her an answer. “Stiles.” He blurted. “It’s something we’re trying to keep quiet, since his dad wouldn’t exactly approve.” 

“Right.” Lydia murmured. “Well, if that ever changes, let me know. I’m sure I can find you someone else a little more suitable.” She shook her head and walked away. 

Derek frowned as he sent Stiles a text. ‘I’m going back out to the Jeep.’ He had tried to respect that Stiles wanted Lydia, but she reminded him too much of Kate, with the way she insisted she knew what was best for everyone around her, regardless of what they thought about it. He greeted a few more people on his way back out of Lydia’s house, even though he wasn’t sure why he was bothering to do so. When he got to the Jeep, he leaned against it and folded his arms across his chest, waiting for Scott and Stiles. The next twenty minutes passed slowly, and he tilted his head back and looked up at the moon, breathing in and out slowly and doing his best not to shift. The anger he felt at everyone - himself, Scott, Stiles, and Lydia, namely - was helping him stay human. He stood up straight as Scott ran past the Jeep, beta-shifted and his eyes glowing yellow. 

Stiles wasn’t too far behind, and he had Allison with him as he approached the Jeep. He gave Derek an apologetic look. “We have to give Allison a ride home. I’d take her in Scott’s mom’s car, but he didn’t exactly give me the keys before he ran off.” 

Derek eyed the brunette girl warily. “Fine.” He yanked the Jeep door open and got in the back, not trusting Allison to sit behind him, where she could stab him easily. 

Stiles shook his head slowly, but closed the passenger door as soon as Allison was seated. He ran around to the driver’s side and got in, giving Allison an expectant look. “Directions? I’m sorry about this. On Scott’s behalf, I mean. He’s socially-stunted. I mean, I am, too. But he’s worse? He really likes you, though.” 

“He can apologize for himself.” Allison rolled her eyes, but she told Stiles how to get to her house. “I’m sorry that I interrupted your date night. Lydia told me that you guys are together.” 

Derek felt horrified and spoke before Stiles could reveal that he had lied. “It’s new. We were just talking this afternoon and we’d already planned to come out here, so it didn’t really change our plans that much or anything.” 

Stiles stared at Derek in the rearview mirror for a few seconds, knowing he couldn’t ask for clarification until Allison was gone. “Yeah.” He nodded. “We’ll probably go see a movie tomorrow night?” He asked Derek. “Since tonight kind of failed.” 

“I’d be okay with that.” Derek said easily. 

Stiles changed the subject, talking to Allison about some of their shared classes on the drive to her house. He pulled into the driveway and gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t give Scott too hard of a time.” He told her. “He’ll need to grovel, sure, but there’s this thing called Hanlon’s Razor. It might seem like he was being an asshole on purpose, but it’s more that he’s kind of dumb.” He joked. “Socially. Anyway, see you Monday?” 

“Yes.” Allison twisted around in her seat. “Bye, Derek.” 

“Bye.” Derek muttered, slouching in his seat as Allison got out. “Can you just get me the fuck out of here?” He asked Stiles. “This is the last place I want to be.” 

“I know.” Stiles said quietly. “Sorry. It’ll just be two more seconds. No! Crap.” He sighed. “Dude, get down on the floorboards and cover yourself with something.” 

Derek wanted to ask why, but the scent of magnolias was enough of an answer. His heart raced as he covered himself with an old blanket, his teeth clenched. 

“Hey, thanks for bringing my niece home!” Kate said cheerfully. “You’re not the guy she left with, though. Mind telling me what happened?” 

Stiles hated Allison’s aunt on sight, just from what Derek had said about her. He knew what she was capable of, but he didn’t feel like playing nice. “Actually, yeah. I need to get home. She’s just lucky I was already leaving and she was able to get a ride home with me. My dad’s sick, and I told him I’d only be gone an hour. It’s been about that long, so could you just move back?” 

“One or two minutes late can’t be that bad, right?” Kate protested, smiling widely. “You could come in and say hi to my brother and his wife, and let them thank you for getting their daughter home safely.” 

Stiles shook his head. “Listen, I tried to be polite, but if you don’t get the hell away from my Jeep, I’m going to end up running over your foot. One. Two.” 

Kate moved back, a scowl on her face, and ran toward the garage. 

Stiles sped away from the Argent house. “Okay, we need to find Scott, but going to look for him right now would be stupid, since I’m pretty sure that we’re being followed. She’s about two blocks behind us. Stay down. Why did you tell Lydia that we’re dating?” 

“She was going to introduce me to Allison, since apparently, I’m better for her than Scott is.” Derek muttered. “I couldn’t think of anything other than telling her I’m already dating someone, and I only really know you and Scott. I couldn’t say I was dating him.” 

“That makes sense.” Stiles agreed. “I’m going to have to pull into the driveway at my house, but if she doesn’t drive right past, I’m calling my dad. I’d get out and go in to get him, but I don’t want to leave you by yourself. Listen, I know you don’t want to talk about it with anyone, but you should tell him what you told me, about her.” He parked the Jeep and watched for Kate’s car to pass, in the rearview mirror. “She’s gone. But I don’t trust her. She’ll probably circle the block. Hang on a second.” He called his dad, putting the phone on speaker as he pulled back out of the driveway. “This isn’t working out how I planned.” He began, when his dad answered. 

“What happened?” John set his slice of pizza down, certain that his son would hear him holding it and yell at him. 

“Allison’s aunt is creepy, and we’ll explain more about that when we can, but for now, we’re just letting her follow us. She already followed me home, but she’s coming back around like she’s monitoring me. She hasn’t seen Derek, and I’m trying to keep it that way.” Stiles drove toward the police station. “Can you call whatever deputy is on duty tonight and let them know that I’m on my way?” 

“Yeah, I’m already dialing the house phone.” John muttered. “How serious are we talking?” 

“Arson and statutory rape.” Stiles said bluntly. “Sorry, Derek. He needs to know.” 

“Crap.” John grimaced. “Any way you can make a u-turn safely and get her license plate number?” 

“Not me, but Derek might be able to help out. I’ll let you know.” Stiles hung up. “Does Kate know that you can do that apparating thing?” He asked. 

“I’m not talking to you.” Derek grumbled. “But no, she doesn’t.” 

“Aww, honey. Our first fight.” Stiles cooed, annoyed. “I don’t give a fuck right now, okay? I’m not interested in hiding things from my dad, unless it’s simple stuff. Bad grades? That report card is going right through the shredder. Psycho arsonists who might try to murder you? My dad gets to hear all about that, whether you like it or not. Pop out and get her license plate number.” He paused, snorting. “Is that okay with you, baby?” 

“I should have just stayed at your house. This night is bullshit.” Derek left the Jeep and reappeared on the sidewalk, taking a picture of the back of Kate’s car. He glanced around quickly, then moved behind a tall picket fence to hide, calling Stiles. “It’s not going to do a whole lot of good. She’s driving a rental.” 

“It’s still registered in her name.” Stiles paused, then slammed his fist against the steering wheel. “Unless she used an alias. Which she probably did. Does this teleporting thing take a lot of energy?” 

“It’s not teleporting, but no.” Derek heard tires screech and a car door slam. He ran across the yard, doing his best to stay low. “Why?” 

“Go home. You can explain stuff to my dad.” Stiles wanted to go find Scott, but he knew that he would just be leading Kate to him, if he did. “I’ll be home as soon as I can.” 

“Be careful.” Derek hung up and made his way back to the house. He eyed the pizza on the kitchen table and smiled in understanding at John, before he sat down across from him. “I have to tell you a few things.” 

“I’m getting a little tired of conversations like that in this house.” John muttered. “But I’m listening.”


	4. Chapter 4

_Thursday, March 10, 1994_

Kate snuck into the hospital room, giggling to herself at how easy it was to get past the adults who hadn’t been paying any attention to her. She set a vase full of flowers down on the table by the window, then turned toward the squeaking baby. 

“We haven’t named her yet.” Chris said quietly, mindful of his sleeping wife. “Dad thinks we were cursed by a witch, and he’s been giving me all kinds of crap about keeping her. Do you want to hold her?” 

Kate nodded, sitting down in a chair and holding her arms out as Chris got up and helped her hold the newborn. “Her face is all wrinkly.” She looked up at her brother. “But I guess you can’t name her Wrinkly-Face.” 

“I don’t think Victoria would appreciate that suggestion.” Chris agreed, smiling. “She won’t always look like that, anyway.” 

“If you guys were cursed by a witch, and you gave this baby up for adoption, you’d probably just have to come back tomorrow, to have another baby.” Kate laughed. “So I guess you’re stuck with this one and she’s stuck with you guys, too. But just in case it’s a witch’s curse, you should go with alphabetical names, or you’ll just get confused.” 

“You think so?” Chris wasn’t sure where Kate got her ideas from, but he remembered being eleven and not knowing the Argent family history in full detail. “I hope we don’t have a baby a day. That’s not going to give us much time to find the person who cursed us, if someone did.” 

“Well, where else would a baby come from, when Victoria wasn’t even pregnant yesterday?” When the baby opened her eyes and stretched her arms, Kate looked terrified. “I’m going to drop her if she keeps doing that!” 

“No, you won’t.” Chris assured his sister. “You’re just not used to babies. I’d be worried if you were.” He teased. “Here, I’ll hold her. What do you think of the name Allison?” 

“It’s okay.” Kate shrugged. “When I have a kid, I’m going to name her Stacey.” 

“What if you have a boy?” Chris smiled, glancing down at his daughter and trailing his index finger over her forehead. 

“I’m not going to have any sons.” Kate protested. “I’d give them all up for adoption. Boys are gross and girls are the leaders in the family, so I’m only going to raise girls.” 

“That’s a noble idea.” Victoria smiled sleepily. “But if you only have daughters, they won’t have anyone to lead.” 

“They can lead each other.” Kate muttered, kicking her legs. “And they’ll kill all the werewolves and witches in the whole world, too. Nobody’s going to make me have a baby out of nowhere.” 

“Chris.” Victoria looked over at her husband. “Time for Kate to go.” 

“Why?” Kate pouted, but she got up from her seat and walked toward the door. “I got you flowers, Icky Vicky.” She giggled as she ran from the room. 

“She’s a brat.” Victoria shook her head. “But so was I, and I outgrew it. She will too, one day.”

* * *

_Friday, January 14, 2011_

Allison squealed, running across the living room and tackling her aunt. “You’re here!” 

“I would’ve said hi earlier.” Kate hugged Allison. “But I had to take care of something. I brought you a present.” She grabbed a box from her suitcase and handed it to her niece. The necklace wasn’t supposed to be handed down until Allison started training, and that was supposed to be at the discretion of Chris and Victoria, but Gerard thought they were taking too long to train her, especially given her unique circumstances. “Put it on, but hide it under your shirt and come with me. We’re going for a drive.” 

“Okay.” Allison laughed as she fastened the necklace and studied the charm at the end of it. “Where are we going?” 

“Just driving around.” Kate smiled. “Why? Is there somewhere you want to go? We could drive past Scott’s house a few times.” She teased. 

“I don’t want to do that.” Allison shook her head, wrinkling her nose. “He’s got a lot to make up for. I was embarrassed that he just left me there.” 

“Yeah, it’s fortunate that his best friend was able to drive you home.” Kate remarked. “I really hope you brought your pepper spray. That chivalry routine is so tired.” 

“Stiles is gay.” Allison laughed. “He wouldn’t have tried anything with me. His boyfriend wouldn't have appreciated that.” 

“Hmm. Two things?” Kate brushed a lock of hair away from her niece’s face. “One, you’re not watching anywhere near enough porn for a girl your age, and two, his boyfriend wouldn’t have known about it.” 

“Derek was in the Jeep with us.” Allison laughed. “I think he would have noticed me being defiled right in front of him. What’s wrong?” 

“Does Derek have a last name?” Kate had spent six years trying to find Derek, but had only gotten as far as keep track of Laura. It was like Derek had vanished from the planet, and she had wondered often if Laura had found out about his betrayal and killed him. 

“I don’t see what difference it makes, but yes, he has a last name. He’s not famous. Just a high school student. Like me.” Allison grinned. “Are we leaving?” 

“Yes. But if either of your parents stop us, we’re going to tell them that we’re going out to see a movie. Okay?” Kate grabbed her jacket and put it on as she walked downstairs and out to the garage. 

Allison followed, repeating the lie Kate had given her when Victoria tried to stop her from leaving. She giggled as she got into the car. “Everything is so dire, tonight. It’s like the apocalypse is coming or something. Mom looked like she was going to ask me for references and if I’d consider wearing a tracking device.” 

“What makes you so sure you’re not already wearing one?” Kate grinned back at Allison. 

Allison frowned, eyeing her necklace warily. 

“Relax!” Kate laughed. She pulled the car out of the garage and drove toward downtown. “I’m actually just going to tell you a little bit about our family history. Your parents wanted to wait, but I don’t see the point. You’re old enough. Mature enough.” She smiled in satisfaction as Allison looked intrigued. 

“I just want to know why we always have to move. I get that Dad’s business requires it, but that doesn’t mean that Mom and I can’t have some place we live all the time, and Dad comes back to, when he’s not making gun sales.” Allison pulled down the visor in front of her and checked her lipstick as she spoke. “I know that this doesn’t exactly prove what you just said, but it’s not fair.” 

Kate smiled, nodding. “I know.” She murmured, her tone sympathetic. Personally, she loved that she didn’t have to form attachments to anyone, and she could go wherever in the world she felt like going. “Well, before we get into the family history, I thought we could talk about your own.” She reached into the back seat, getting a folder and handing it to Allison. “You were definitely not planned. Your parents were in this town, dealing with a problem with some gun-control crazies, when your mom had to go to the hospital and give birth to you. She hadn’t even been pregnant, the day before.” 

“I might only have a B in Biology.” Allison scoffed. “But I know that babies take a little bit longer to form than twenty-four hours.” 

“They’re supposed to.” Kate agreed. “But in your case, science went out the window. It’s all in the file. I promise you, I’m not joking. I honestly thought they would have told you at some point.” 

“Mom and Dad said I was born in Colorado.” Allison frowned. 

“No, that’s where they moved to, right after they got out of the hospital.” Kate said gently. “This town is not the quiet place that you’ve been led to believe. Our family hunts, but not for food. For the protection of humanity, more like. They didn’t think they would ever have to come back to this place, so they probably had your birth certificate forged. But they kept the same date. Trust me, I was there. I thought you were really gross-looking.” She teased, laughing. 

Allison looked through the file, turning on the overhead light to read over the notes from the doctor about Victoria’s confusion as she was being told to push, and how a social worker had met with the Argents to discuss adoption possibilities. She sighed shakily, wiping tears out of her eyes with one hand. With the other, she shoved the file back toward her aunt. “Why are you telling me all of this? I’ve had a really bad day, Aunt Kate. This isn’t helping.” 

“Sweetie, that’s because you’re looking at it the wrong way.” Kate coaxed. “I’m trying to help you, not hurt you. You’re a gifted girl and we’ve spent years trying to figure out how and why you came into existence.” 

“We?” Allison repeated. “You and my parents?” 

“No, me and your grandpa.” Kate smiled. “It’s like you’re a fairy tale princess. Be proud and own it. There’s just something about Beacon Hills. As it turns out, a lot of women have had this happen, but we’ve never been able to find the names of the women who gave birth to kids like you. You were the first one we knew about, and we made the doctor note your circumstances in the file. Just in case it came up later. From what we can tell, nobody else bothered to be as cautious as we were. Your archery skills mostly came from being part of this family, but the way you use them, and other weapons? That’s all you. There’s a reason your parents never trained you with anything but the bow and arrow. I think...” She reached into the back seat again, getting a box with throwing knives and opening it to show Allison. “You’re long overdue to embrace the person you’re going to become.”

* * *

Allison felt a little dazed as she walked into school, Monday morning. She had spent the whole weekend learning how to throw knives, and it didn’t take too long for her to realize that they were moving in ways they shouldn’t have been able to, like changing direction to hit a moving target. Doing something as mundane as sitting in a classroom was confusing, and she was still trying to wrap her head around the idea that werewolves were real. 

“I’m so sorry about the other night.” Scott blurted, interrupting Allison’s thoughts as she stared blankly at her locker. “I swear I wouldn’t have left you like that, but I had food poisoning.” 

“Okay.” Allison murmured, then shook her head and looked at him. “Actually, not okay. I had a busy weekend and I’m going to tell you right now that if you ever do that to me again, I’m going to find someone else to date. Lydia keeps telling me that she knows a dozen guys that have expressed an interest.” 

“But... that means that you have to go out with me at least once more, right?” Scott asked, a hopeful expression on his face. 

“Definitely.” Allison grinned. “Now go away, before I change my mind.” She giggled to herself when he practically tripped over his own feet in his haste to get to his own locker. Since finding out on Friday night that she was different from other kids, she had wondered if she could share the news with anyone else. She didn’t want to keep it to herself, but she wasn’t sure who she could tell. That was the biggest problem with moving all the time; she didn’t have any close friends who she knew she could trust with her secrets. Not that she had any real secrets, until recently. Her fingers flexed as she remembered how natural it had been, holding a knife handle in each hand and sending them sailing through the air, to targets on the other side of a large warehouse. She grinned, deciding that maybe this was one secret she would prefer to never share. She liked the idea of it being just for her to know. 

“You look extremely happy.” Lydia commented, eyeing her friend. “How was your weekend?” 

“Fantastic.” Allison murmured. “How was yours?”

“Jackson and I saw a movie on Saturday night.” Lydia answered, looking around at other students as she spoke. 

“Did you like it?” Allison laughed. “I didn’t ask what you did, Lydia. I asked how your weekend was.” 

“Isn’t that the same thing?” Lydia asked breezily. 

“No.” Allison stared at the redhead for a moment, imagining what it would be like if she showed her the newfound skill she had picked up over the weekend. “I think I’m going to homeroom early.” She said instead. “Tell Scott I said hi, please?” 

“I will not.” Lydia protested, shaking her head. “I think you forgave him too easily.” 

“That’s my decision to make, not yours.” Allison walked away. She passed Jackson and turned, a thoughtful look on her face. “Can I talk to you for a second?” 

Jackson leered at her. “Yeah, sure.” He followed her to a deserted part of the hallway. “What do you need? I draw the line at teaching McCall how to be a better boyfriend.” 

“You and Lydia really deserve each other.” Allison rolled her eyes. “I think you need to really take some time to look at Lydia, the next time you go on a date with her. She hated the movie you took her to, but she’s too polite to admit that out loud.” 

“It’s her problem if she can’t tell me that herself, instead of sending you to do it for her.” Jackson shook his head at her. 

“That’s not - I wasn’t even going to say anything, but you were there, so I figured I might as well. She doesn’t know I wanted to talk to you about it.” Allison stammered. “Jackson, I swear on everything holy that if you break up with her because I said something stupid, I’m going to give you nightmares for weeks.” 

“I think I’ll go tell Lydia that you offered to make me dream about you.” Jackson laughed, walking away. 

Allison bit her lip, then decided her best move would be to get out of the hallway and away from what was sure to be a screaming match between the couple, but she couldn’t make herself leave the spot she was standing in. She wanted her self-proclaimed ‘new best friend’ to be happy, but Lydia was never genuine with Jackson and constantly feigned stupidity, and if Allison could figure that out after one week, she wasn’t sure how Jackson could be so oblivious to it happening for two years, off and on. It didn’t help that Jackson kept trying to flirt with her, instead of being devoted to Lydia. 

“You look like you have a lot on your mind. Did Scott say something stupid when he was trying to apologize?” Stiles frowned. “I can go get him and drag him back here while you lecture him on social norms.” 

Allison laughed. “No! I mean, he was okay. I just said something stupid to Jackson and he had to act like an ass and make it worse.” 

“So today ends in Y.” Stiles shrugged. “If you’re worried about Lydia getting offended, you should know that she gets offended at least six times a day.” 

“Before breakfast?” Allison guessed, then looked embarrassed. “That was, um...” 

“A literary reference, and it was awesome.” Stiles laughed. “And it was also probably true.” He started walking, glancing over at her. “Come on, let me walk you to your homeroom?” 

Allison found herself following automatically, her earlier concerns fading. “I don’t know why Lydia would rather be with Jackson when she could have you.” She made a face. “That probably sounded like something I didn’t mean it to sound like. My whole weekend was weird. Scott ditching me was barely a thing, in comparison to how the rest of it went. I want to talk about it, but I don’t think anyone here would believe me.” 

“You’d be surprised.” Stiles muttered. “Whatever it is, if you’re not ready to talk about it, nobody has the right to try to make you. Even if some of us, and by some of us, I mean me, are really curious now.” 

Allison smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind, if I want to talk to someone about it. For now, I just want it to be a secret.” 

“Right.” Stiles glanced over at her, his gaze going to her necklace. He was reaching for it before he could stop himself, needing to verify that it was a wolf and a moon on her pendant. 

Allison grabbed Stiles’ wrist before he could touch the necklace. “People like to be asked.” She frowned at him. 

“I know. Sorry. You’re, uh, actually hurting me.” Stiles winced. 

“You’re lucky I didn’t break your wrist. The necklace is a family heirloom, and I really don’t want to lose it. My Aunt Kate gave it to me. I guess Scott isn’t the only one with a problem figuring out how to behave around people. It’s like you’re both animals.” 

Stiles’ mouth opened, but he had no idea what to say as he made eye contact with Allison, who was staring back at him like she was trying to peer into his soul. 

“That’s it, isn’t it?” Allison demanded quietly. “Scott didn’t have food poisoning and you weren’t leaving early to take care of your dad. Maybe someone else, but not your dad.” 

“Allison, I don’t know what your weekend was like, but you obviously learned some things.” Stiles said carefully, hoping with everything he had that Derek and Scott were both able to hear him. “Whoever told you about werewolves is biased as hell. If you ditch homeroom with me and come to the library, I can tell you everything I’ve found out about werewolves in general and we can compare notes. I think that somewhere between what I know and what you know, we can figure out the truth about everything?” 

Allison realized that she was still gripping Stiles’ wrist, and she let go reluctantly. “Are you one of them?” 

“That depends on what you mean by ‘them.’” Stiles rubbed his sore wrist. “If you’re talking about werewolves, no. If you’re talking about teenage boys, then yes. Last I knew, I was still a guy.” 

“I am definitely done with talking to teenage boys today.” Allison grimaced. “Except that I do want to know what you know. Truce while we talk?” 

“Yeah.” Stiles agreed, changing direction and walking toward the library. He kept glancing over at Allison as they walked, relieved that she was doing the same thing to him. It was strange that he would find comfort in their mutual distrust, but if she hadn’t been side-eyeing him just as much as he was doing to her, it would mean that she didn’t see him as a threat. He didn’t doubt that she was capable of kicking his ass - his throbbing wrist proved that well enough - but to know that she didn’t believe it of herself seemed like a good sign. 

Allison set her backpack down on a table in the back of the library and sat down, looking up at Stiles as he did the same thing. “On Friday night, Aunt Kate gave me this necklace.” She took it off and held it out to him. “She says that werewolves have been around for a long time, and my family has been hunting them. We’ve been doing that since the Beast of Gevaudan. She gave me a book about it, but I left it at home. Just in case I didn’t believe her, she showed me some pictures and a couple of videos she had taken of werewolves. She said that she’s not supposed to keep that stuff on her phone, but she knew she would have to show me eventually.” 

Stiles listened intently, then studied the necklace for a moment. “Is it all right if I take a picture of this?” He asked, looking up at her. 

“Go ahead.” Allison murmured. “I don’t mind.” 

Stiles took a few pictures of the necklace, then handed it back to her. “About a week ago, Scott was bitten by an alpha werewolf.” He explained quietly. “He’s new and he’s definitely not out to hurt anyone. He didn’t ask to be turned into a werewolf, and he hates it. He’s been begging me to find him a way to go back to being human all the time.” 

“Is your family like mine?” Allison looked hopeful. 

“No.” Stiles laughed, shaking his head. “I just like doing research on whatever topic I can think of. Since Scott needed help figuring some stuff out, this became my newest obsession. I have a feeling that you were told that werewolves are evil and have to be eradicated, and you just met Scott and he ditched you at the party, but he’s not a heartless monster. I don’t think it can be true of any species in existence. Every creature is an individual, you know?” 

“Well, I can’t date him anymore.” Allison shook her head. “It’s not that I don’t want to, but I know how my parents are. They won’t leave him alone, and once they know what he is, they’ll refuse to let me see him.” 

Stiles nodded. “We’ll find a way around it. I’ll help, somehow.” 

“There was this other thing.” Allison fastened the necklace around her neck again. “But it’s probably stupid. Maybe.” 

“If it was some crap about the moon being made of cheese, I have it on good authority that it’s a lie.” Stiles smirked. 

Allison rolled her eyes, laughing. “My mom didn’t know she was pregnant with me until the day I was born.” 

Stiles’ mirthful smile faded. “What?” 

“Yeah, I figured someone would think I was insane if I mentioned it. Ignore me.” Allison blurted. 

‘No!” This time, Stiles grabbed Allison’s wrist to stop her. “Sit down. The same thing happened to my mom, when I was born. My dad said that it’s actually kind of common around here. I thought it was some memory loss thing, like how people can get cancer from living near power lines or whatever.” He shrugged. “But we live in a world where werewolves exist, so maybe the other stuff isn’t so crazy?” 

“Do you think every kid born here has the same story?” Allison asked softly. She sat down, picking up a pencil to have something to fidget with. 

“Probably not, or the CDC would shut us down while they investigated.” Stiles pointed out. “I asked my dad if it meant I had super powers, but he said I don’t.” He snorted. “I know of one other person, but I'm not naming names. And no, it’s not Scott.” 

“Lydia?” Allison teased. “Maybe that’s why she’s so good at math.” 

“That might be the truth.” Stiles mused. “But that would be a shitty super power.” 

“Not if you’re trying to get good grades.” Allison smiled. “I wanted to talk to her about this, but I didn’t want her to think I was a weirdo.” 

“But it’s fine if I think that about you? Thanks.” Stiles grinned. “What else did your Aunt Kate tell you? I don’t think we’re done comparing notes, here.”

* * *

By the end of the school day, Stiles felt mentally exhausted. Since they didn’t want to miss their classes, he and Allison had spent time emailing back and forth. Allison had mentioned that her parents could check her text history, but they didn’t know all of her email addresses. He had been careful not to reveal anything about Derek or time travel, and he was trying to figure out what to say to Derek and Scott now that he couldn’t avoid them. 

“What did Allison say to you?” Scott started getting ready for practice. 

“She said she can’t go out with you again. Not in a blatant way.” Stiles explained. “But you can still date her, you just can’t pick her up for a date. And you can’t talk to anyone about how much you like her. Except me, I guess. Not that it’ll be much of a change.” 

“What’s going on with her? Is she mad at me? Did you say something to make her mad at me?” Scott’s fearful expression became one of anger. “Tell me what you said to her!” 

“Hey!” Derek snapped, shoving Scott back before he could lunge at Stiles. “Go take a cold shower or whatever it takes to calm down. Idiot.” He turned toward Stiles when Scott was gone. “What did you tell her?” 

“I told her about Scott, but she’d already figured it out.” Stiles said quietly. “I didn’t say anything about you. Not about how you got here or who you are, or your family. The thing is, she’s like us. Born like we were. I said I knew of one other person, besides me and her, who had that happen. But I didn’t mention you. She guessed that it was Lydia, and I didn’t argue about that.” 

Derek relaxed. “Okay. We shouldn’t even be here. We need to figure out who the alpha is and do something before things get worse. Scott’s barely in control of himself, in case you didn’t notice.” 

“Believe me, I noticed.” Stiles muttered. “I don’t know how to stop him. What am I supposed to do, say ‘Scott, go tell Finstock that you quit lacrosse,’ and wait for him to listen?” 

Derek tilted his head, frowning, and brought a hand up to Stiles’ chin to turn his head, so he could watch as Scott walked through the locker room, a determined look on his face. 

Stiles glanced back at Derek, then made sure he was dressed enough to not seem weird as he followed Scott, wondering what he was doing. 

“You mean you can’t wait to play.” Finstock was frowning at Scott. 

“No, I mean I can’t play.” Scott protested. “I have too much going on right now. My grades are dropping and my mom is furious, and I’m a we-” 

Stiles yanked Scott’s shirt, dragging him backward. “Coach!” He yelled to drown out Scott’s ranting. “Derek can take over for Scott.” 

“Derek isn’t going to do that.” Derek scowled when Stiles gave him a pleading look. 

“It’s not like I can play.” Stiles pointed out. “I’ve never been in any of the games. I wouldn’t know what to do, if I did make it onto the field.” 

“That’s not your fault.” Scott stood up straight. “It’s not your fault that you’ve never had a chance to play.” 

“It’s his fault that he sucks at lacrosse.” Jackson called out. “Finstock can’t fix stupid.” 

“If he could, you would be first on the list.” Derek smirked when Jackson looked gobsmacked. “I’ll take over for Scott. At least for the next few games. He should be fine after that. Right?” 

“Right.” Scott smiled. He gathered his things and left the locker room, ignoring the jeers of his teammates. 

Derek glanced at Stiles again, inclining his head before he walked outside, wondering if his theory was right, after having seen Scott’s behavior firsthand. 

Stiles hurried after him, confused. “What’s wrong?” 

“I think your dad was wrong about you being normal. How likely is it that Scott did exactly what we wanted him to do, after arguing with us about it for the past week?” Derek pointed out. “It’s not just that, either. I didn’t want to eat the rest of my waffles the other day and you told me to, and then I was hungry. When you said I looked tired, I felt tired. I don’t think you’re doing any of this on purpose, but I’m going to ask you to be careful what you say to me, from now on. I don’t want to be manipulated.” 

“Got it.” Stiles smiled. “I know how to test this.” He turned, waiting for the rest of the team to come outside. “Hey, Jackson!” He called out. “Tell me what grade you got on that pop quiz in Chemistry.” 

“B minus.” Jackson frowned. “Why?” 

“I was just wondering.” Stiles shrugged. When Jackson had passed him, Stiles turned toward Derek to explain himself. “If it wasn’t a command, he would have told me to go fuck myself. But that doesn’t necessarily prove that he was compelled. I need a better test.” 

“Don’t do something stupid.” Derek warned, sighing when Stiles ignored him and walked toward the bleachers. 

“Hey, Lydia!” Stiles called out, climbing up to sit by her. 

“Shouldn’t you be practicing?” Lydia asked coldly, frowning at him. 

“For what? I sit on the bench every game.” Stiles scoffed. “I wanted to ask you something.” He paused, determined to get the phrasing right. “Tell me what you think of me.” 

“You have a little bit of potential to not be annoying.” Lydia said automatically. “But I’d never go out with you. Besides, you’re dating someone already and I’m a lot of things, but I don’t go after guys who are in relationships.” 

“Oh, I forgot about that.” Stiles muttered, recalling the lie that Derek had told Lydia a few days earlier. “Right. Well, thank you?” He walked away and started doing the warm-up exercises, not realizing until he was halfway through them that he wasn’t even upset that Lydia had outright rejected him for once, instead of just pretending she hadn’t heard him. He looked around for Derek. Trading one unattainable crush for another wasn’t helping his mood. He understood Derek’s reasons for not wanting to get involved with anyone, and it really had been a matter of weeks since the fire, as far as Derek was concerned. He sat down on the bench and watched practice, not bothering to pretend he was paying attention as he put earbuds in his ears and turned on music to drown out his own thoughts. It was time to go home before he knew it, and he stayed quiet as he changed his clothes and got into the Jeep. 

“Are you okay?” Derek asked softly, frowning at him. 

“I’m not blaming you.” Stiles began. “But I like you and I know why you can’t like me back right now, or act on it if you do, or whatever.” He stammered. “I’ve liked you for awhile, not just since you showed up at school last week, and I always wondered what had happened to you. This whole situation is weird, I know. I’m not sure when the last time was that I genuinely liked Lydia, instead of just saying that I do. It just got easier to pretend my focus was on someone near, instead of someone who had disappeared and might have been dead, for all I knew. If you think this means you can’t be around me now, you’re wrong. I’ll help you get back to your own time. I promised you that I would, and I still mean that. It’s not your fault that I feel like this.” 

“I’m not ready to be with anyone.” Derek muttered. “But for what it’s worth, I wish I was. It’s just too soon.” 

“I know. I could just tell you to be ready, but that’s not what I want. That’s not how I want this to go.” Stiles made a face. “Assuming that I really do have the ability to tell people to do things.” 

“You don’t have enough proof?” Derek frowned. 

“It’s possible that you were tired and hungry and didn’t want to admit that to yourself until I pointed it out.” Stiles reasoned. “And Jackson could have been thrown by my question. Lydia’s reaction and Scott’s... those are a little more definitive, but not concrete evidence. This is going to take more research.” 

“Yay.” Derek regretted ever telling Stiles his theory. “Can your introspection wait until I’m gone?” 

“I promised, didn’t I?” Stiles smiled faintly.


	5. Chapter 5

“Derek!” Laura yelled, staring at the spot in the woods where her brother had been seconds earlier, before he disappeared into thin air. Normally, he would only be a few feet away from where he had just been, but he was just gone. She sat down, too drained to do much more than stare out into the woods. All she had wanted was for Derek to come with her to New York, where they didn’t have to worry about pack territories and could have a semblance of a normal life. Everyone they loved was gone, save Peter, who was in a coma and might not ever recover.

And just like that, Derek was tumbling forward from a space between the trees. He landed on his back, but got up and ran a hand through his hair to dislodge some leaves. He grinned sheepishly at Laura and walked over to her. “I’m home.” 

“Yeah, you were gone for ten minutes.” Laura rolled her eyes, choosing to feign irritation instead of thanking him for coming back. She got to her feet and punched in the stomach. “Chickenshit little asshole! Where did you go?” 

“The future.” Derek murmured, smiling. 

Laura realized that it was the second time she had seen her brother happy in about as many minutes, after a year of him being sullen. “I guess you had a good time there?” 

“Not the whole time.” Derek hugged Laura, pulling back to walk toward what remained of their house. “There’s someone I want to introduce you to and a couple of things we need to do, and then we’ll leave for New York, okay? I have a lot of things that I need to talk to you about, but it can wait until we’re on the plane.” 

“You do know that Mom and Dad and everyone are still dead, right?” Laura asked, frowning as she followed behind Derek. 

“Yeah, but I’ve had a couple of decades to get used to that.” Derek stopped, turning to face his sister. “I was going to come back to an earlier time, but there was all this stuff about fixed points and disrupting too much of the timeline. I have to admit, I didn’t listen to all of it, but once I knew that I could come back here, to this point? I didn’t care about anything else.” 

“Derek!” Laura snapped. “It’s great that you’ve had time to work through your shit, but Mom and Dad and _everyone else in our family_ died yesterday!” 

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Derek murmured. “But you’re also wrong, actually, and if you already paid for two plane tickets, you’d better add three more. We’ll need them for Malia, Cora and Peter.” He walked into the house, grabbing a charred suitcase from the hall closet and opening it. 

“Who the hell is Malia?” Laura’s eyes burned alpha red as she glared at her brother. “Stop what you’re doing right now and tell me everything.” 

“I can do both. Pack and explain.” Derek protested, barely acknowledging Laura’s alpha command, where twenty minutes ago, he had cowered. “Mom meant well, but she made a mistake and kept Peter’s daughter away from him. Once he finds out about her, he’ll be nicer. You have to go heal him and wake him up, so we can tell him about her. Maybe you can even remove the mental block that kept him from her all these years, too.” He sighed and sat on the couch when Laura snarled at him. “Fine, I’ll start from the beginning, but I’m just giving you the highlights and you can ask me questions afterward. I just wanted someone to help me, and I ended up six years into the future. I went to college. I got married, too. I always knew I’d come back here, but we were just trying to make the most of the time we had, while we looked for a way to return me to this point. I’d say that I miss him, but I don’t. I know where he is.” 

“Him?” Laura blurted. “Derek, the last I knew, you liked girls.” 

“I wasn’t exactly ready to talk about my attraction to anybody, nevermind guys.” Derek shrugged. “It didn’t go well for me with Paige or Kate. But I didn’t turn gay or whatever people might think about me. I just found someone who was right for me, and that person happened to be male. Like I said, I’ve been gone for twenty years, Laura.” He smiled. “I’m going to take care of everything. We should go talk to Sheriff... sorry, Deputy Stilinski.” 

“Is that the guy you married?” Laura had given up on trying to make sense of anything Derek was saying, and decided she was better off piecing things together after he said them. 

“No, but he’s going to be my father-in-law.” Derek laughed. “If things go the same way they did before. I hope they do. But it was a risk we agreed was worth taking.” He went upstairs, coming back with an armload of things that he could salvage from the remains of the bedrooms, including Peter’s laptop. He loaded it all into the suitcase and zipped it shut. “Come on, we have a lot we need to take care of.” 

“I thought I was the alpha.” Laura protested half-heartedly, getting up and following Derek to the Camaro. 

“You are.” Derek put the suitcase in the trunk. “But that doesn’t mean that you have to tell me what to do all the time, or that I can’t figure out things on my own.” He got into the passenger seat of the car. 

Laura drove to the police station, listening as Derek described what the future was like. She didn’t feel like asking why he hadn’t recounted anything she did there, knowing better than to assume that he just didn’t want to spoil it for her. “So, how did I die?” She asked, giving him a knowing smile. 

“You really want me to tell you?” Derek gave her a doubtful look. 

“No, but do it anyway.” Laura laughed. 

“Peter was mentally unstable when he came out of his coma, after being in it for years.” Derek said softly. “He killed you to get the power from you, to strengthen himself. And to kill everyone involved in the fire. Once we get through today, he’ll never have to do that. We’ll take precautions to make sure he doesn’t do it sooner than we expected, too. Everything is going to work out. The worst of it is over.” He laughed. “And won’t ever happen. Now come on.” He got out of the car and went into the police station. 

Laura watched as a boy looked up from an elementary school textbook, making eye contact with Derek. 

“You came back!” The boy waved to Derek, then got up from the desk and walked around it, holding a hand out to Laura. “You’re Derek’s older sister. It’s nice to meet you. I mean, the circumstances are crap. Sorry.” 

Derek laughed. “It’s okay. You’re not wrong, Stiles.” 

“You seem like you’re doing a lot better than yesterday.” Stiles stared up at Derek. “I told you that candy fixes everything.” 

“That must have been the reason.” Derek agreed, grinning. “Can you go get your dad and tell him that Laura and I need to talk to him?” 

“Sure.” Stiles left the bullpen. 

“That’s your child bride, then?” Laura teased. 

“He was legal when I married him, assface.” Derek muttered. 

“Ooh, assface?!” Laura burst out laughing. It sounded so out of place, but felt good to be able to laugh. Just as the guilt started to settle in, Deputy Stilinski approached them, so she didn’t have time to dwell before she was following Derek into an interrogation room to listen as he explained how Kate Argent had manipulated him and set his house on fire. Those were things she could deal with, though they left a bad taste in her mouth. What came next nearly had her falling out of her chair. 

“I need to talk to you about something else.” Derek began. “Off the record, if that’s possible?” 

John looked confused, but he turned off the tape recorder and nodded to Derek. “Go ahead, son.” 

“I know that Stiles’ birth was unusual.” Derek murmured. “So was mine, and a few other people around here. I can give you a list of names. It’s not the complete list of people that were born with no real gestation period, but it’s everyone I know about. Laura and I have a lot of money, because of what happened. I’d like it if my share of it could be used to create a school to teach kids like me to control their abilities. I’ll come back and attend it when the time comes, but I need to go to New York with my sister for a few years.” 

John sat back, folding his arms across his chest. “How do you know all of this?” 

“My ability is to travel through space and time.” Derek glanced at Laura, smiling to reassure her before he looked back at John. “I’ve already seen what can happen if there’s no real training for these kids like me. I know who can help do it. My Uncle Peter helped train me with the skills I learned.” 

“This is the uncle who is in a coma?” John looked skeptical. “And you’re saying my son has powers?” 

“Yes, sir.” Derek murmured. “I can prove it, if you need me to.” 

“I’d definitely like to see for myself. I'm not saying I don’t believe you, you understand? I just don’t know how I feel about you being distraught yesterday and really put together, today.” John muttered. 

“It was a shock to me, too.” Laura admitted. “But I know he’s not lying.” 

John got up and called Stiles into the room, then sat back down when his son walked in. 

“This is going to sound weird.” Derek said gently. “But I want you to tell your dad to do something he wouldn’t normally do.” 

Stiles looked from Derek to Laura, then at his dad. “Um, okay? Dad, go get me a Dr. Pepper from the vending machine.” He stared in disbelief as his father left the room, coming back with a can of soda for him. “Holy crap, I didn’t think that would work.” 

“I don’t even want him to have this.” John frowned. “But I felt like I had to do it. So what are you saying? He can control people to do what he wants?” 

“It’s a little more complicated than that, but not by much.” Derek murmured. “If we can put a school where the house was, he could go there. It would be better for him than the public school he’s attending. My uncle has a degree in education, so I’m not just coming up with all of this out of nowhere. He’ll be fine in a few days and ready to start working, I can promise you that.” 

John ran a hand over his face. “If you can guarantee that you can get a school built before August, and that your uncle is willing to teach my son all of the standard subjects in addition to control of his... power... then I’ll do what I can to convince the other people on your list to send their kids to the school with him.” 

Derek smiled. “I promise, sir.” 

“Wait. I don’t.” Stiles protested. “I don’t want to go to school without Scott!” 

Derek picked up the list he had given to John, holding it out to Stiles. 

Stiles eyed Derek warily and looked at the sheet of paper, his smile widening.

* * *

Derek had two college degrees by the time everyone was old enough for him to attend school with them, though the first time he had gone to college wouldn’t be recognized by anyone but himself. The second one had been entirely online, due to the fact that traveling back to Laura had made him unable to age, and he didn’t want to look like he was sixteen while he was surrounded by twenty-two year olds. He grabbed his suitcase from the back of Laura’s Camaro, taking it into Hale Academy and up the stairs to his room. He had begged Peter for leniency, and even let Stiles try to manipulate Peter into agreeing, but the man wouldn’t budge and let them share a bedroom. While that was a downside, he at least had a room to himself and plenty of free time. 

“You’re finally here!” Stiles hugged Derek from behind, laughing. “We just got Allison a year ago. You want to hear something hilarious? She doesn’t like Scott! I guess without his animal magnetism, he’s just not attractive anymore.” He snorted. “It’s been so weird, only talking to you twice a year and limiting our letters to one page. But I did a huge report on Westermarck and I get it. I think. Unless you’ve changed your mind and you don’t want to date me, now.” 

“I think we should at least try to get to know each other.” Derek laughed. 

“But you already know me.” Stiles protested, sitting down on Derek’s bed and pouting at him. 

“No.” Derek shook his head. “I knew you before, but you’ve had six years of experiences that you haven’t told me about, and vice versa. That was on purpose.” 

“Okay.” Stiles frowned. “Well, I’m going to let you finish unpacking your things, then. I’ll see you at dinner.” He left the room. 

“Every time.” Derek muttered, going back over Stiles’ words to see if the other teen had somehow manipulated him into feeling guilty for trying to be patient. Relieved, he realized that his guilt was his own, which was a strange thing to be happy about. He put his clothes into his dresser and left the room, grinning to himself as he went back downstairs and into Peter’s office. 

“Oh good, you’re here.” Peter looked up from his desk. “Maybe now your boyfriend will stop being so insufferable.” 

“I doubt it.” Derek shrugged. “But I didn’t come here to let you badger me. I know you and Deaton worked on that serum. Is it ready?” 

Peter nodded, opening his bottom desk drawer and pulling out a syringe full of purple liquid. “Do you need someone to hold your hand?” He smirked. 

“Just give it to me, I’ll do it myself.” Derek scowled. “I’m nearly sixty years old, I think I can handle giving myself an injection.” 

“While you may have existed for that long,” Peter rolled his eyes and handed over the syringe. “You are chronologically only sixteen, and you’re going to age like a regular werewolf as soon as that serum enters your bloodstream. So it’ll still be slower than the average human, but you won’t be in stasis.” 

“I don’t need the lecture.” Derek dropped the used syringe into the trash. “I asked for this. I want to actually grow old with Stiles. Or whoever I end up with, if it turns out not to be him.” 

“Right, because the two of you have been clamoring to be with other people for the past six years.” Peter scoffed. “Get out of here and go make out with him or whatever it is that teenagers do, these days.” 

Derek laughed, leaving the room. He rubbed his arm self-consciously, eager to see what this new future had to offer him.


	6. Chapter 6

“Help!” Stiles yelled, dragging Scott backward into the house. “Peter! We have a problem and you need to call Laura right now!” He laid Scott down on the floor and crouched beside him, slapping him gently in an effort to wake him up. He glanced up when he heard running footsteps, and everyone in the house was suddenly in the sitting room, staring at him and Scott. “We were playing tennis and this massive alpha jumped the fence and bit Scott, then ran off. I figured it was better to bring him here than take him to the hospital.” 

“Well, he’s not dead or dying.” Lydia remarked. “I’d know, if he was.” She called Laura, sitting down to explain the situation as Derek and Jackson pulled pain from Scott. “She’s already on her way. She could feel distress from Scott and Stiles, as soon as it happened.” 

“The only alphas we know of are Laura and Satomi.” Peter mused, listening to Scott’s pulse. “Unless...” He glanced up at Laura as she ran through the front door. “Deucalion.” 

“Fuck.” Derek grimaced. “If he’s here, then so is Ennis. I don’t want anything to do with him.” He scowled at Peter, then ran back up the stairs to his room. 

“Who the hell is Ennis?” Jackson demanded. “That’s the most country bumpkin name I’ve ever heard.” 

“That ‘country bumpkin’ could rip you in half and not break a sweat.” Laura muttered. “He’s going to be mad at me for saying it, but Derek trusted Ennis to turn Paige when he actually was a teenager, and nobody warned him about the potential problems.” She looked up at Peter. “So Paige died because the bite poisoned her.” 

“It wasn’t something I was aware would be a problem.” Peter murmured. “And I’ve apologized for it several times. Maybe if your mother hadn’t yanked memories out of my head, I would have known not to suggest it. But placing blame on corpses is a little devoid of class. What’s done is done and won’t be undone unless Derek starts feeling especially nostalgic for an era before Kate Argent was arrested.” 

Allison grimaced, but decided that saying something wouldn’t help the situation. She knew her aunt was a criminal, and that one of the conditions of her getting a lesser sentence was that Allison had to attend school in Beacon Hills. Not that it helped Kate out at all, since she was serving ten life sentences, on top of her six years for statutory rape and five years for arson. “Can we just go track this alpha down and kill it, for trying to turn Scott against his will? We all know how he feels about being a werewolf.” 

“I’m not going anywhere until I know my friend is okay.” Stiles muttered. “But you guys can do whatever.” He waved a hand toward the door. 

“No.” Laura shook her head. “This isn’t one alpha, it’s an alpha pack. There used to be an alpha summit meeting to report back on hunter activity, but Deucalion convinced the other alphas there that being a pack on their own was a great idea, so they all killed their respective pack members, took on their power, and started traveling around to look for other alphas that they could convince to do the same thing. They came to me about four years ago and I told them to get lost. They didn’t like that. I think they’re pissed off and trying to make me apologize.” She looked at Stiles. “I’m not going to. I’m sorry that Scott was bitten, but I can make him part of my pack and they won’t have control over him. I need consent, and he can’t give it right now. You’re about as close as I can get to his opinion.” 

Stiles sighed. “Do it.” He moved back to give Laura room. “Melissa is going to kick my ass, but since the alternative is him turning into a psychotic killer werewolf, she’ll get over it. Hopefully, before I’m bruised.” He watched as Laura bit back down on the wound that Scott already had in his side. “Oh my god.” He tilted his head back, closing his eyes. “I had to mind-warp myself to get him back here without passing out. I hate the sight of blood so much.” 

Laura stood up, wiping her mouth. “Well, you should probably reconsider dating a werewolf, then.” She smiled. 

“You’ve got blood all over your teeth.” Lydia frowned, holding up her compact to show Laura her reflection. “What do you want us to do?” 

“I’ll go talk to Melissa McCall.” Laura murmured, then scrubbed at her teeth with her index finger. “Probably after I use some mouthwash.” 

“Solid plan.” Stiles muttered. “Can one of you He-Man types get Scott up to his bedroom?” 

“I’ll do it.” Jackson lifted Scott easily and took him up the stairs. 

Stiles followed behind Jackson, still too concerned about Scott to focus on anything or anyone else. 

“I still want to go hunt these guys down.” Allison insisted. “I’m not scared of them.” 

“Peter and I are.” Laura admitted. “There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be. That doesn’t mean we’re running. This is my territory and they’re going to have to leave. But we’ve got a fight on our hands. I’ll talk to everyone else after I talk to Melissa. I might have to move the rest of the pack in here, just to make sure we all stay together. I’ll make arrangements. You two can help out by making sure the spare rooms have been dusted and have clean sheets.” She tilted her head. “And if I hear one comment about stereotypes or misogyny from you, Lydia? I’m going to put you on lawncare duty for the next year.” 

“The fact that you anticipated such a remark means that you recognize the task for what it is.” Lydia countered, but she went up the stairs with Allison. 

“Monitor them.” Laura told Peter. “I know they’re going to try to sneak off and kill Deucalion and Ennis, otherwise. I just don’t understand what they’re doing here, now. I already made it clear that I don’t want to join their pack. Biting Scott is kind of a weird power move, isn’t it?” 

Peter nodded. “I’ll see what I can find out, once you’re back.” He sat down on the couch and picked up a magazine. “Don’t take too long. I never was a fan of teenage girls.” 

“Yeah, that’s clear.” Derek called out, walking down the stairs. “I’m coming with you. I can’t just sit here and wait for something to happen. I can go talk to everyone at the school, since I look like I belong there, anyway. You won’t have to wait to explain this to them.” 

“Thanks.” Laura smiled, though she wasn’t really feeling it. She knew that as soon as she was gone, Peter was going to take Allison and Lydia out to look for the alpha pack, but she liked to pretend that she had a semblance of control over her uncle. Still, she couldn’t resist calling out to him as she was pulling the door shut. “If either of them die, I’m going to kill you.” 

“Noted!” Peter replied cheerfully, waving without looking up from the article he was reading. As soon as the sound of the Camaro faded away, he sent a text to Lydia and Allison, then set the magazine back on the coffee table and got up from the couch. “For the sake of plausible deniability, I’d like this recon mission you’re going on to take less than two hours.” 

“No promises.” Allison tucked a lock-pick into her hair and grinned at Peter, following Lydia out to the older man’s car.

* * *

It took two tries to get Laura’s formerly human betas to transfer to Hale Academy, since the first attempt didn’t work and she had to go back to the house to get Stiles and have him outright tell the parents (or legal guardians, in Isaac’s case) to write letters that, effective immediately, the teenagers were transferring to different schools. Cora and Malia had refused to let Peter become their teacher, but she knew that they could handle themselves in a fight. She had spent the past six years training them for it. “I’m going out.” She called out. “I’d very much like to go get drunk tonight, but I know that’s a horrible decision! If my emotional state isn’t enough of an indicator, we’re a little bit fucked right now! Don’t wander off.” She slammed the front door as she left, even though she wasn’t all that angry. A point had to be made. 

Stiles knocked on Derek’s bedroom door, walking in when the werewolf gave him permission. He sat down in a chair and glanced around the room before he looked at Derek. “I just wanted to tell you that today made me realize how short life actually is. I mean, you’d think my mom dying would have done that. I guess I didn’t think about it too much. I was more focused on making sure my dad’s life wasn’t short, than anything else. But anyway. Life is short, and I know that sounds like I’m asking you to ignore what you said before, but I’m not. More like the opposite? I don’t want to wait for you to be ready. I don’t want to wait for anyone. I’d like if you were the person who I could be with right now, but that’s not what you want, and I’m not interested in convincing you that you do. I don’t want you to think that this means I just suddenly stopped caring about you, although I can, if I have to. I can go mirror-mind myself and back off on everything. What I really want right now is to, um, lose myself in another person and not have to think about the fact that my best friend could have died today.” 

“I feel like you’re giving me an ultimatum, even though I can tell that you’re trying not to.” Derek muttered. “So go do whatever you have to do, Stiles. I’m not going to criticize you for living your life the way that you want to. That’s what we agreed on, years ago. It doesn’t matter that you don’t remember the conversation. I do. Laura said not to leave the house, so if you’re looking for someone to, uh, distract you?” He rolled his eyes. “Your options are a little bit limited.” 

“Okay.” Stiles left Derek’s room, closing the door behind him. He went back into his own bedroom, flopping down on his stomach on the bed. He hadn’t meant to give Derek an ultimatum, but he could see where his would-be boyfriend was coming from. He hated the idea of being told to sit still, when he knew he could be out there, doing a lot of good. It was a far cry from the time when he convinced his fifth grade teacher to give him straight As. He wanted Derek, but more than that, he wanted the same thing Derek had referred to as a distraction. With that in mind, he changed his clothes and went down the hall to knock on Lydia’s bedroom door. 

Lydia opened the door, taking in his appearance. “That’s the outfit you said you were never going to wear, despite Allison and I trying to encourage you.” 

“Yeah. I’m going out.” Stiles smirked. “Want to come with me?” 

“I’ll get my coat. Go tell Allison.” Lydia stepped back into the bedroom, closing the door. 

Stiles knocked on Allison’s bedroom door. “I don’t have a fake ID.” He began. “But I have an ability to get bouncers to look the other way. Feel like defying our alpha?” 

“Definitely yes.” Allison grinned. “Are you going to be okay going somewhere without Scott?” She teased. “I’ve been thinking of him as your Scott-urity blanket.” 

“Nice.” Stiles snorted, rolling his eyes. “I think I can handle a couple of hours without him being at my side.” 

“Why are you inviting us and not Derek?” Lydia demanded. “I just asked him if we’re coordinating outfits and he said that he’s not invited. You’ve been talking about him since we were children and you’ve saved every letter he ever sent you.” 

Stiles frowned. “I just need to get out of here and blow off some steam. I tried to explain how I felt, and I don’t know if he misunderstood, or if I misunderstood my own intentions. It wouldn’t be the first time. He isn’t interested in what I was trying to ask for, and he sort of told me to go find someone else.” 

“His loss.” Lydia shrugged. “I don’t understand the two of you and your fascination with the Hales.” 

“Two?” Stiles looked over at Allison, who was blushing and trying to cover her cheeks with her hands. 

“She likes Peter.” Lydia smirked. “We need to hurry up, before Erica, Boyd and Isaac catch on and try to come with us.” 

“You don’t like them?” Allison frowned, following Lydia toward the staircase. 

“I feel like we’re siblings.” Lydia gestured to herself, Allison and Stiles. “Us and Scott, and Jackson. They’re not my sister and brothers, they’re more like distant cousins.” 

“And they’ll stay that way if we don’t invite them.” Allison said pointedly. 

“Let’s just have it be us, tonight.” Lydia knocked on Jackson’s door. “Bar-hopping.” She called out to him. 

“Let me change my shirt.” Jackson replied. 

A few minutes later, they were outside and running across the lawn, to Jackson’s Porsche. Even though Stiles knew the answer was no, he couldn’t resist asking, “Can I drive?” 

“Hell no, Stilinski.” Jackson shook his head, but grimaced when Allison smacked him. “But thanks for asking instead of making me let you.” 

Stiles shrugged. Peter’s idea of a punishment, when Stiles had first been caught using his power to get what he wanted in the house, had been to lock him in the basement vault for six hours. He hadn’t known at the time that it would only be six hours, so he was a wreck when he was finally released and had to be assured that he hadn’t been there for days. He had been ten years old and had pissed his pants sometime around the second hour. It had taken him a year to forgive Peter for his unusual teaching methods, but he had to admit that they worked; Stiles hadn’t tried to manipulate anyone in the house since that day. “You weren’t here when Peter convinced me that it was a bad idea.” 

Lydia reached over to squeeze his hand, smiling tensely. “Peter loves to teach us lessons in the most unorthodox way he possibly can. He was at least kind to Scott, letting Deaton handle most of his preliminary training.”

Stiles laughed. “That’s because Melissa threatened to murder Peter if he ever hurt Scott.”

“He hurt you?” Jackson frowned. “Maybe I should transfer back to the public school.” 

“No, not physically.” Lydia laughed softly. “He was thinking about Stiles’ enthusiasm and my lack thereof, in learning to use our powers. Stiles convinced me to do his homework and he got the chef to make him an entire tray of desserts. He didn’t get caught until Laura tried to buy him a brand new computer, while she was out shopping for school supplies with Peter. When he came home, he took Stiles into the basement and didn’t get him for half the day. With me, it was that I didn’t want to see spirits or be around dying people in the hospital, and Peter paid off a morgue employee and locked me in there for awhile. My punishment came a day after Stiles’, and I retaliated by slashing his tires.” She leaned against Stiles when he put an arm around her. Talking about it was easier, now that they were older. “And Stiles grabbed every article of clothing that Peter owned and peed on them. Peter screamed at us until his voice gave out, and then I told him that if he ever did that to us again, I was going to set him on fire. He really, really didn’t like hearing that. He’s eased up on how he motivates us.” 

“I’m rethinking my interest in Peter.” Allison muttered. 

“It sounds weird and like we’ve given in to Stockholm Syndrome.” Stiles agreed. “But I was forcing people to do things that they didn’t want to do. Six hours in a holding cell was probably lenient. And with Lydia...” He glanced over at her. 

“I was in denial about what I could do.” Lydia sighed. “I still don’t agree with what he did to us, but we were all trying to figure out what we were doing. He was just as new to this as we were.” 

“He still sounds like an asshole, though.” Jackson laughed suddenly, looking at Allison. “You’re interested in our teacher?” 

“I’m almost eighteen!” Allison looked embarrassed again, but she shrugged a moment later. “I’m pretty sure that the fact that I’m an Argent guarantees that he’d rather saw himself in half with a rusty butter knife than date me.” 

“Well, assumptions are never a good way to get through life.” Lydia got out of the car as soon as Jackson parked, and she smiled as she turned toward Stiles. “Any chance you can get us free drinks and some pretzels?” 

“I’m on it.” Stiles grinned back at her and got into the line of people waiting to get into the club. Once the bouncer let them in, he found a table he wanted and rested his hands on it, leaning down to look at the people already sitting there. “Get up and let us have this one.” He felt relieved when they grabbed their drinks and walked away. Even though he had been gifted with his ability to talk people into whatever he wanted since the first time he uttered a word, he always waited for the day when it would fail and someone would try to teach him a lesson about his entitlement. 

“That’s a nice trick.” A male voice spoke from somewhere behind Stiles.

Stiles turned to face the guy as Lydia and Allison brought drinks over. Forgetting his admirer for a moment, he frowned at his pseudo-sisters. “I didn’t tell anyone to get you those.” 

“We’re girls.” Lydia grinned. “We didn’t actually need your help. I was teasing you. Jackson’s buying pretzels because he might as well spend some of that money he’s always bragging about.” She glanced at the stranger, then looked back at Stiles. “Who is this?” 

“My name is Theo.” The guy smiled. “I was just telling Stiles that I saw the way he got you guys a table. It’s not something I’ve ever been capable of doing.” 

“You could sit with us and enjoy the benefit of his skill.” Lydia sat down in one of the chairs. “His crush just hurt his feelings and he’s a little bit distressed. Somebody needs to cheer him up.” 

“I think I can handle that.” Theo looked from Lydia to Stiles. “But instead of sitting here, do you want to dance with me?” 

“He does.” Lydia answered for Stiles, laughing when he stared at her in disbelief. “Just go.” She watched as Theo grabbed Stiles’ hand and pulled him toward the crowd of people dancing. 

“That was good of you.” Allison smiled and sipped her drink. “I think he’s afraid to talk to people, sometimes.” 

“Stiles?” Lydia scoffed. “He never shuts up.” 

“Okay.” Allison agreed, waving a hand to greet Jackson when he arrived at their table. “But it’s less about him talking and more about what he’s saying. Or not saying? Imagine if he got carried away and said the wrong thing to someone. He could manipulate them or hurt them, somehow. I know you guys just told me about him getting extra junk food, but what if it had been worse? What if he got mad and told someone to do something awful, and they did it? I think he probably considered that as being a possibility, and it’s why he doesn’t date, and why he and Derek wrote letters instead of talking on the phone or using video chats.” 

“I guess I never gave it much consideration.” Lydia admitted. “My power can’t hurt anyone. The people I interact with are already dead, or they’re dying anyway. I’m not ever the cause, I’m just the warning sign. The flatline beep on the heart monitor.” 

“I would trade you any day of the week.” Jackson muttered. “I just shapeshift into whatever’s useful for the situation. Eldritch horror kind of shit. I didn’t even know what that phrase meant until Stilinski made fun of me. Arrogant prick.” 

“Are you talking about yourself, or Stiles?” Lydia teased. 

Jackson threw a pretzel at Lydia and smirked. “Where did he go, anyway?” 

Lydia pointed toward the crowd. “The guy he’s dancing with is Theo. The guy looked besotted. I hope it works out for them.” 

“What about Derek?” Jackson frowned. “I thought they had some kind of fairy tale thing happening. Didn’t he reverse time to be with Stilinski twice or something? I think it’s a little creepy, but whatever, I guess somebody might think it’s sweet.” 

“No, they were together while they were working on a way for Derek to come back, and it took about twenty years.” Lydia picked up her glass and held it out to Jackson. “Here. I don’t want the rest of this. Derek can’t age. He went away so that Stiles could grow up a little without him, so that they could be together now. He didn’t go back in time for Stiles, it was to save his sister.” 

“Isn’t that a reason to not encourage Stiles to date someone else?” Allison frowned. 

Lydia rolled her eyes. “Just because they had a relationship before doesn’t mean that they have to have one, now. To expect Stiles to fall in line with whatever Derek wants is cruel. Besides, Stiles says that Derek told him to look elsewhere, so if he gets upset that Stiles listened to him, that’s his problem. Just because he looks like he’s sixteen doesn’t mean that he is. He’s closer to fifty, if you factor in all of the time he’s spent existing. Really, I’m doing them both a favor by recommending that Stiles go dance with someone else and get to know them. If he sees what his options are and still chooses Derek, it’s less like Stiles is betrothed and doesn’t get a say in how his life turns out.” 

“I thought he loved Derek, though.” Jackson grimaced. “Never mind, shut up, he’s coming back over here.” 

Stiles stopped to speak to a waitress, who followed him to the table and left a pitcher of beer and some glasses for them. He poured a glass for himself and sat back in his seat. “I gave him my phone number, and I have his.” He smiled softly. “He wants to have an actual date with me soon.” His phone beeped with a text message, and he laughed. “I guess he couldn’t wait to talk to me again?” He got his phone from his pocket, frowning when he saw the other three doing the same thing. “Bad news?” Without waiting for an answer, he looked at the text from Peter. 

‘Whatever trouble you’re causing, you need to stop and come back. Laura and the betas are missing.’ 

Stiles looked up from his phone, meeting three somber gazes. “Do you guys want to go home first, or are we going to look for everyone?” 

“Home first.” Allison stood up. “My weapons are there.” 

“Bullshit.” Jackson protested as he got up from the table. “Like you don’t carry at least two knives on you at all times.” 

“Knives are okay for being up close, or at least close enough.” Allison protested. “If I’m going to be attacking from a distance, I need my bow and arrow.” 

“I guess I’m sitting this one out, too.” Lydia shrugged. “No need for me to be - oh god, no.” She stumbled, blindly clutching at the shoulder of whoever was closest to her. She looked up, her eyes locked on Jackson’s, before she ran to the parking lot. 

“Who was it?” Stiles frowned as he got into the back seat. 

“Laura.” Lydia whispered, shuddering. “And if I felt it, then...” 

“I felt it, too.” Jackson tossed his keys to Allison and got into the front passenger seat of the Porsche. “Which means that every beta knows. Derek and Peter, included.” 

Allison drove as fast as she could, mindful of the police car following her with lights flashing and sirens blaring, but she didn’t stop until she got to the boarding school. 

Stiles got out, waiting for his dad to stop the cruiser while the others went into the house. “Hey. We have an emergency. We couldn’t stop for anything.” 

“You think I can just overlook this?” John frowned. “What happened?” 

“Laura’s dead.” Stiles muttered. “And some people are missing.” 

“And that’s what you call an emergency? Why didn’t you notify any of us?” John demanded. “We’re trained in this sort of thing.” 

“Well, so are we!” Stiles blurted. “And you guys actually aren’t. Trained, I mean. There’s no ‘werewolf one-oh-one’ in the police training courses. I know. I’ve checked. You’d just be bringing guns to a claw fight. Or whatever. Fangs?” He shrugged. “I really don’t have time to get into the semantics of this with you. I have to go do the briefing thing and get back out there to stop whoever the hell just killed Derek’s sister.” He took a few steps back, toward the porch. “If you really feel like making an arrest, you can do it tomorrow. I’ll make sure Allison stays put, in fact.” 

“So you think I’m going to give up, just because you and your friends are different from the rest of this town?” John knew as soon as he said it that it had been the wrong choice in phrasing. He found himself holding his breath in fear as Stiles stormed over to him, scowling. 

“I think that if I told you to get in the car and go back to work, you’d do that.” Stiles muttered. “But I’d rather not do that to you. Don’t make me.” 

“Nobody’s making you do a damned thing.” John protested. “Just because you’re here nine months out of the year doesn’t mean that I don’t know you, kid. You’re stubborn as hell and you’d never do anything you didn’t want to do.” 

“I have to go.” Stiles murmured. “Come back tomorrow. We’ll talk then.” He didn’t make it a command, but he sort of wished that he had, as he walked into the house. It would have been easier, in some ways, for his dad to just do whatever Stiles told him. It wouldn’t have reduced the guilt Stiles felt, but he figured that since he was always feeling guilty anyway, a few more reasons wouldn’t change anything. 

“Laura told you to stay here!” Peter yelled. “You can’t just leave whenever you feel like it.” 

Stiles frowned at the broken lamps and the splintered coffee table. He looked up at Peter. “You’re always leaving, even when she says not to.” He said quietly. “Where the hell were you when all of this was happening?” He gestured to the debris. 

“I was...” Peter frowned. “I don’t know.” He sank down onto the couch. “I was in the office and I heard the front door slam shut, and they were gone.” 

“Where are Derek and Scott?” Stiles looked over at Lydia. “Are they alive?” 

“Yes.” Lydia murmured. 

“Derek took Scott to his mother’s house.” Peter looked lost. He shook his head, glancing up at the four teenagers. “I’ll look around for clues, but I doubt that I’ll find anything. Could you just go and do whatever needs to be done?” 

“Yeah.” Jackson held his hand out for the keys he had given Allison. “We’ll let you know what we find out.” He bit his lip. “Out of curiosity, since I know it’s not the time? Who’s the alpha?” 

Peter blinked, needing a minute to process Jackson’s question. “I don’t know. I suppose that wasn’t exactly on my mind. Well, it’s not me.” 

Jackson nodded, leading the way back out to the car. He didn’t speak until he had pulled out of the long driveway. “This is bullshit. Derek just came back and Laura died? He obviously did it.” 

“You’re an idiot!” Stiles snapped. “Derek wouldn't do that. He spent decades working on a way to go back in time and save his sister. He wouldn’t kill her.” 

“You can’t all be this stupid.” Jackson changed lanes, speeding up a little. “You don’t know what happened. You weren’t there. All you have to go on is what he said happened. Doesn’t that bother anyone else? You’re just blindly trusting him. There’s no way to verify what he said is true.” 

“There’s also no way to verify that it’s false.” Lydia pointed out. “Except that we do have these powers and Derek said that we do, so he wasn’t lying about that. With his help, we’ve had more time to develop them. I feel like I’m not even halfway into what I could be capable of. I don’t know what sort of person I was before his intervention in this second time around, for what he’s trying to accomplish.” 

Jackson parked in front of Scott’s house when he saw the Camaro there. “Wait here.” He got out and went up the porch steps, knocking on the door. 

Scott answered the door, flashing red eyes at Jackson. “Hey.”


End file.
